registering a business (in IL, US)

Okay, I have a few questions. I'm in the U.S. by the way.

#1 - Under what circumstances am I required to register a business? After I make $NNN amount of profit a year? How does that work? Do I even need to register as a sole proprietor or an LLC?

#2 - Can I register as an LLC in Illinois without any partners and remain the only owner/member?

#3 - As a sole proprietor, can I register the name of my business (website name most likely) and use that for things like bank accounts, etc? So people could write checks to the name of my business and I could cash it in my business account (in which case, how would the signing off go?)

#4 - When dealing with my business/websites with other businesses (business - to business) is there anything else I should take into account?

#5 - What do I need to do to register my business and make everything official?

Thank you.

 

"#1 - Under what circumstances am I required to register a business? After I make $NNN amount of profit a year? How does that work? Do I even need to register as a sole proprietor or an LLC?"

You are not required to register regardless of how much you make. Depending on where you live, there may be a requirement to get a business license.

"#2 - Can I register as an LLC in Illinois without any partners and remain the only owner/member?"

Yes.

"#3 - As a sole proprietor, can I register the name of my business (website name most likely) and use that for things like bank accounts, etc? So people could write checks to the name of my business and I could cash it in my business account (in which case, how would the signing off go?)"

Yes, but you will need to file a fictitious business name and may be required to get a local business license. You can get an endorsement stamp for your checks.

"#5 - What do I need to do to register my business and make everything official?"

That's going to depend on what you decide to do. Do a search on google to better understand your options. There are added expenses in operating as an LLC, but they also offer liability protection of personal assets.