Forms of Business
Ownership
What type of business should I open???
Sole Proprietorship
A
business is a business owned and
operated by one person
 Approximately 74% of all businesses in
Canada are sole proprietorships
 They are responsible for only 10% of sales
volume
 Owners have unlimited liability
Partnership
A business owned by 2 or more people
 Partnerships represent only 9% of all
business forms in Canada
 Have an experienced lawyer assist with a
partnership agreement
Examples: lawyers, dentists, real estate
agents, J&J plumbing

Corporation
Owned by a group of people called
shareholders
 Each shareholder owns a piece of the
company and is entitled to share in the
profits
 Walmart is the world’s biggest corporation!
 Many corporations have MILLIONS of shares
traded each day

Private Corporations
 Up
to 50 shareholders
 Shares are NOT available to the public
 Examples: IKEA, Mars, Chrysler, Telus,
Home Depot, Facebook, McCain
Public Corporations
► Shares
are available to the public
► Traded on the stock exchange
► Must disclose all financial information
► One vote per share
► Examples: Mcdonald’s, Microsoft, Walmart,
Apple
Crown Corporation
 Owned
and controlled by the Federal or
Provincial government
 Examples: CBC, VIA Rail, Canada Post,
Hydro One, LCBO, Ontario Place
Cooperative
►A
type of business owned, operated and
controlled by a group of people for their
mutual benefit
► Pool resources to provide themselves and
customers with goods, services and other
benefits
► Patronage based on how much is bought
and/or sold
Cooperatives Continued…
 Producer
Cooperative vs. Consumer
Cooperative
► E.g. Own 2% of cooperative, $20 000 sales,
patronage = $200
► Purchase 2% of products, $20 000 sales,
patronage = $200
► Examples: Gay Lea Foods, Farming Co-ops,
Peoples Credit Union
What type of business would you
open???
►What
are the pros and cons to each
form of business ownership???