A friend once asked if he could register a Microfinance Institution as a business name. Business name ke? You need to see the expression on my face. It turned out that he wanted to take advantage of the Federal Government’s free business name registration at that time. I had to explain to him that the nature of his business specifically requires that it be registered as a Limited Liability Company.
Basically, there are four main ways in which you can structure your business; they are sole proprietorship; partnerships; incorporated trustees; and companies. Most business owners want to join the bandwagon to adopt a business structure without asking to know if the structure will be appropriate for their business.
A business Lawyer will take different things into consideration before advising you on the appropriate structure to adopt. He will consider the nature of your business; your long term goals and objectives, the level of control you wish to have, the requirements by regulatory bodies in your industry, how to want to be taxed, how you intend to raise capital, the level of liability you are willing to undertake, the number of parties involved, and many more.
To ensure your business is properly structured for maximum profit, you must highlight the long-term goals of your business and consult a lawyer to advise you on the appropriate legal structure that will align with the goals.