I'm not sure about the legal implications of calling yourself an LLC when you're not, but I've set up a fair number of LLCs over the year. It's pretty easy, costs 100.00 up front and like 50.00 every year, and you can register it online in a matter of hours (at least in my home state). There's some legal protection that it offers, but no tax benefits that I know of. Bottom line, there's no reason for someone who wants to become an LLC to not file for one and get it set up relatively quickly. If you've got enough money to start a business that should be in your budget. Or you can do what I did which was start out as a sole proprietor and then register as an LLC when my business started to grow. Legally, I'm what is considered a "pass-through LLC" since I'm the sole member, and not much really changed when I made the switch. Since I'm the sole member I don't even need to have a record of yearly meetings!