Talk to a business law attorney for best advice. However, you need at least an LLC or S-Corp, if not a full C-Corp. The reason is legal protection. As long as it s the business s fault, you will not be personally liable. Let s say, you accidentally gave bad advice, and the business you consulted for sue you for 100K in damages. If you have an LLC, and you used LLC s name to bill the client, and was sure to represent yourself as part of the LLC, then LLC will take the fall. You are not PERSONALLY responsible, and thus, your bank account, your car, your house, etc. will NOT be part of the lawsuit. Whereas, if you just used your own name to consult, then you are now PERSONALLY responsible, and thus, stand to lose EVERYTHING YOU OWN, should you lose the lawsuit. This is just an extreme example, and there are many other advantages to owning an LLC, such as tax advantages, ownership controls, and such. ---Kasey C, PC guru since Apple II daysWe have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART?
Why would you want a 501(c)3? That s for charities.An LLC is a legal concept at the state level that provides *some* limited liability. It s not guaranteed to protect you in the event of a lawsuit, though.
