legalEven for the single tasks of adding my business to my LinkedIn profile, or using the business name in a digital goods store, should I call it Example SP (SP stands for Sole Proprietorship), or can I drop the SP and just name it Example.
We also use the term “sole proprietor” in the U.S. In this situation, the business is you as an individual and there is no corporate entity.
If you’d like to do business under another name, such as “Example” then you are supposed to register a DBA which stands for “doing business as.” E.g., John Smith doing business as Example.
In most US states, you register your DBA with county government, which is really bizarre for someone doing business nationally or even internationally. It seems silly, but DBAs have not changed with the times.
Many people never register their DBA, either because they don’t know about it or because it seems pointless and silly to register with your county government. I’ve never heard of anyone getting into any kind of trouble because of not having registered their DBA.
Long story short, I would just use “Example” when adding your business to LinkedIn.
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