A Sole proprietorship is defined as a single person, individually owned, unincorporated business that is NOT incorporated or formed as an LLC, limited partnership, C Corporation, S Corporation, Partnership or Trust/Estate. As the sole business owner, you enjoy the simplicity of having full authority and ownership over your business decisions. This means you are personally liable for the business’s debts, losses, and liabilities because there is no legal distinction between the business owner and the business – a defining characteristic of the proprietorship business model. Maintaining complete ownership, sole proprietors are non-registered businesses that typically operate under a trade name “DBA” (doing business as), although the legal entity is the business owner’s actual name. For instance, John Smith dba Smith's Auto Repair.