This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Businesses are structured in different ways to meet different needs.

The simplest form of business is called an individual or sole proprietorship. The proprietor owns all of the property of the business and is responsible for everything.

For legal purposes, with this kind of business, the owner and the company are the same. This means the proprietor gets to keep all of the profits of the business, but must also pay any debts.

Another kind of business is the partnership. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to decide how much of the partnership each person controls.