General Partnership: A business effort involving two or more people, known as partners. Each partner is liable for all partnership debts and obligations regardless participation and contribution amounts. Put another way, a general partnership provides no protection against lawsuits.
Holding Company: Part of a double incorporation strategy. The sole purpose of a holding company is to own or control other companies. Said other companies typically are exposed to significant liability threats. For instance, many insurance companies use holding companies to suck off profits and limit lawsuit risks.
Joint Venture: A cooperative business effort between two or more parties. It is usually limited to a single business purpose and involves a sharing of responsibilities and revenues. For instance, a database programmer and web site designer might enter a joint venture to provide e-commerce solutions to businesses.
?LLC? - Limited Liability Company: A creation of state law in which one or more individuals form an entity providing the liability protection of a corporation, but the tax benefits of a partnership.
Limited Partnership: A partnership in which the business is managed by a general partner with limited partners supplying capital investment. The limited partners are prohibited from actively participating in the management of the partnership. In exchange, the limited partners liability is limited to the amount of their investment. In pursuing this business entity, the general partner is almost always a corporation.
Partnership by Estoppel: A partnership created by operation of law when two or more people pursue a business goal and hold themselves out to the public as such. This business entity is prevalent as it is the automatic designation for two people doing business who fail to take any steps to designate a business entity. In this entity, each partner is completely exposed to liability risks.
"S" Corporation: Similar to a ?C? corporation, this entity provides solid asset protection for shareholders from business liabilities and debts. The primary difference is the entity can be taxed as a pass through entity and is limited to 75 shareholders.
Sole Proprietorship: A business owned and controlled by one person. The designation provides no protection from business liabilities. It is taxed on the person's personal tax returns on schedule ?C?.
Each of the above entities provides certain advantages to a business owner. If you consider the particulars of your efforts, you should be able to get an idea of which one is best for you.
Fires are one of the most destructive forces on the planet. They can easily destroy everything youve worked for and can even claim the lives of those in your small business, even your own life. Plus, there are recently enacted guidelines in England and northern Ireland that now require the responsible person to take actions in order to ensure the safety of the property. Below are some steps to help you make your small business safer from the risk of fire.
Identifying Fire Risks
Before you can make your business safe, you must identify what could be putting it at risk of a fire. That means you need to take note of anything that might start a fire, burn in a fire, or intensify a fire. While that may seem like a tall order, it is just the first important step in making changes to improve the safety of your building.
Once youve determined what these risks are youll need to begin making changes. For example, if you notice that something which could possibly ignite a fire, such as a portable heater, is located near combustible materials, such as storage boxes, you could move the ignition source into another room or replace it with something that is less likely to start a fire.
Adding Fire Safety Necessities
Two of the greatest tools you can have in your small business to improve fire safety are the fire extinguisher and the smoke alarm. The fire extinguisher can help you stop the spread of a fire before it can cause too much damage or before it can become life or property-threatening. Remember you should have one extinguisher for every 200 square meters of floor space to provide the maximum safety possible.
The smoke alarm can be useful because it will alert you to the danger usually before the first flames appear. Even if the fire has already started, the smoke alarm can alert you to take immediate action, such as grabbing the extinguisher and/or calling the fire department. It can also expedite the evacuation of the premises and can save lives. Be sure to check the batteries periodically to ensure it is working properly.
Taking Precautions
There are some other things you can do to ensure that your small business is safe from fire. For example, you need to minimize clutter whenever possible. Clutter can help contribute to fires by making it harder for people to reach them with the proper equipment and in adding to their intensity. The clutter can also make it more difficult to escape safely from your building.
In addition, you should create a fire plan so that everyone in the building knows what actions to take in the event of a fire and what to do if they see the signs of a fire. Because fires can create panic, using drills to practice these plans is going to be essential to their success.
Both Rajpal175 & Alex Stacey are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.