Even if your office is in your garage or spare bedroom, many cities require licenses for home based businesses. Be sure to check with your local government to see what's required before you start marketing. If your aren't marketing under your own name, and you aren't incorporated, you'll probably need to file a Fictitious Business name. This is often handled at the County level rather than by your local city government. Check with your County to see what's required.
Incorporation Incorporating can have many advantages, even for a small business.
But there can be disadvantages too. Only you can decide if you are better off as a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation. Many states have some type of Limited Corporation which combines the advantages of Sole Proprietorship or Partnership with some of the advantages of incorporation. These may be called Limited Liability Corporations or something similar. Check with the Secretary of State's Office of your state for more information on the various types of corporations.