brantmacga said:
w/ an s-corp, you have the same liability protection as a shareholder that you would w/ an llc.
I think we are mixing terms up here. Sub chapter S refers to how the IRS treats the income from your company. It has nothing to do with the structure of your company.
For the most part, the owners of a LLC have no liability for the debts of the LLC beyond what they have in the business, just like a shareholder in a publicly traded company. In a sole proprietorship, the owner has unlimited liability for debts of the business.
However it is not quite as clearcut as you might think. Many vendors will not extend credit to small companies (at least initially in any case) without a personal guarantee from the owner. Sometimes it is not even clear that a personal guarantee is in effect. Depending on how things are worded, if the owner were to sign for a skid of parts, he might well be personally liable for paying for them, and not even truly realize it. That is why many companies do not actually sign for parts received, but rather have a stamp with the company name on it rather than an individual. That way it is clear the company accepted the goods rather than an individual.