Which legal form to use in your country, what the paperwork involves, the tools that replace a back office, public programmes for solo founders — and real one-person businesses, sourced from the companies themselves.
| Country | Trade in your own name | Company of one | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Sole trader | Proprietary company (Pty Ltd) | business.gov.au |
| United Kingdom | Sole trader | Private limited company (Ltd) | GOV.UK |
| United States | Sole proprietorship | Single-member LLC | IRS |
| Singapore | Sole proprietorship | Private company limited by shares | ACRA |
| India | Sole proprietorship | One Person Company (OPC) | MCA |
| China | Individual business (个体工商户) | One-person limited liability company | SAMR |
Six sections, one subject. Start with the legal form, then the admin, tools and money — or read how other solo founders did it.
Sole proprietorship, single-member LLC, Pty Ltd, private limited, One Person Company — what each one is.
Open section CCSectionThe same question — how do I run a company of one here? — answered country by country.
Open section POSectionPublic programmes for one-person companies — China’s 2026 OPC measures and support elsewhere.
Open section TXSectionTax registration, paying yourself, bookkeeping, annual returns, insurance.
Open section TLSectionThe software stack a one-person company runs on: invoicing, payments, AI, automation.
Open section CSSectionReal one-person companies — what they sell, how they run, and where each fact comes from.
Open sectionCities are competing for solo founders with start-up zones, workspace stations and guaranteed loans. Each summary names the document, date and issuing body.
Sets up OPC start-up zones in Tianjin’s Tiankai Higher Education Sci-Tech Park, Binhai High-tech Zone and Sino-Singapore Eco-City. Eligible OPCs can get start-up guaranteed loans of up to CNY 300,000 for an individual or CNY 4 million for a business, with interest subsidies; founders aged 38 or under moving to Tianjin can stay in a “maker station” for up to three years.
Tianjin municipal government noticeIn a published reply on OPC start-ups, the bureau says people of working age who start a business in Xi’an and hold a business licence can apply for a start-up guaranteed loan of up to CNY 300,000 for up to three years, with half of the actual interest subsidised.
Xi’an HRSS replyQingdao’s Entrepreneurship Empowerment Centre runs OPC start-up service stations (OPC 创业服务驿站) and published its second list of proposed residents for public comment on 20 September 2026.
Qingdao HRSS noticeThe first guides are being written and checked against official sources. Meanwhile, the assistant can answer your question now.
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A business owned and run by one person. In some countries it is a formal legal term — India’s Companies Act 2013 defines a “One Person Company”, and China’s company law provides for a one-person limited liability company. Elsewhere the same idea is a sole proprietorship, a single-member LLC or a private company with one director and one shareholder.
Guides name the country they apply to and link that country’s company registry or tax office. The core set is Australia, the UK, the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, India and China, plus country comparisons for founders choosing where to incorporate.
Since 2026 several Chinese cities have issued measures aimed specifically at one-person companies. The documents are published in Chinese; our guides give the document number, date, issuing body and eligibility in English, with a link to the original.
No. Guides are general information about published rules. They do not consider your circumstances. Check the official source we link, and speak to a registered professional — such as an accountant or lawyer in your country — before you act.
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