I've got a website right now earning $1,500-$2,000/mo. and plan on building a few more so I have a nice little network. At what point should I form an LLC? Should I do so now? Any advice on this would be very helpful. I really like the idea of having my own business identity, but I just don't know when it's really worth doing so, as opposed to just being cool. Thanks, boxer126
Keep in mind there are no tax benefits to having an LLC versus a sole proprietorship. The only reason to form an LLC is the legal protection that it offers.
I think you are reaching the point where you would benefit from shopping around for an accountant (if you aren't already) you can work with. In my experience it takes some work to find someone you connect with, who understands your business, and who offers good advice. Part of your discussions with the selected person would obviously be about business entities and when & how you would benefit from them.
Which is way reason enough IMO. I sleep better at nights with my personal assets protected. BizFilings.com makes the whole process pretty easy and it's very affordable.
An LLC will protect you in case you ever need to go to court over something (like copied domains, content, etc.) I have a business partner that has one solely for this reason, and he deals with very expensive 3 letter domains...He basically has it to protect himself, which it has done so far...He has been to court three times over someone stealing his content, and all three times having an LLC has made paperwork easier...my $.02
If you are planning to add new sites to your network and expand it, I'd also recommend looking into C Corp (S Corp) plan. There may be some tax disadvantages, but when your seperate sites grow and when you need to sell them seperately, you will save so much money and time in the future. If you have 1 LLC and all of your sites under it, it will be pretty hard to seperate the sites and sell them. just my opinion. good luck.
If you have multiple sites which are pretty large, it becomes pretty tricky to divide their accounting, etc. It also becomes kind of hard to evaluate the company when you sell. It's just my opinion.