If you currently own a business, or plan to change the structure of your business, you need to research the many possibilities you may have. Should you stick with a sole proprietor status or form a New Limited Liability company? What Limited Liability options do you have? Hopefully, this article will give you a brief birds' eye view of your available options. A Limited Company, also known as a Limited Liability Company, LLC, or Ltd. can be a very worthwhile business formation. Limited Companies by nature protect their investors by you guessed it, limiting their liability. There are two types of limited liability companies. One is a Public Limited Company or PLC and the second more common formation is a Private Limited Company which is commonly known as a Limited Company. A Private Limited Company is a relatively inexpensive formation that is not riddled with as many legal hurdles as its public counterpart or some other business formations. For example, Corporations are required to keep formal minutes, have meetings, and record resolutions. The LLC business structure requires no corporate minutes or resolutions and is easier to operate. A Limited Liability Company will also often benefit from significant tax advantages. Public Limited Companies can be listed on the Stock Exchange or the Unlisted Securities Market. A Public Limited Company will get you the financial attention you desire, but will also require more legal support that will raise the legal overhead cost in addition to requiring a larger more organized foundation. For example, A PLC must have at least two directors and a secretary where a Private Limited Company only requires one of each. Either choice will gain you respect from potential investors as Limited Companies as a whole are usually more complex and/or organized than other more simple alternatives like sole proprietorships. Another advantage to limited companies is they inherently get the advantage of the business operating as its own entity which means it will not only live indefinitely but in most cases your personal assets will be much more protected in the event something were to go wrong. |
