I know I and a few others were having a discussion about just this around a year and a half ago. I'm not saying to go dig it up, it's good you didn't resurrect the deadIt's a good question, that I don't have a sufficient answer for, so I'm glad you brought it up.
I can't think of the different classifications of a business that you can make yourself into, but I think that at the very least, after a few clutches you should look into some form. Becoming a business can protect you personally, limiting liability (?) as well as keeping banking separate and presenting yourself as a more trustworthy and established person. I am more comfortable buying something from a person with a "Wesellsnakes inc." than from "hi im bob. I has snakes". Of course this is assuming it is not someone I am familiar with from our forums or in real life. I would say though, become some form of an official business as soon as you can.
A website is a great idea. It is a huge help in selling things, people love visual aids. While a website can help you, it can also hurt you if you are not smart about it. I have seen some VERY unprofessional websites, with formulaic layouts, horrible grammar and more than an acceptable amount of misspellings. If you do it right however, you have definitely caught my attention, even if you are a very small operation! PLEASE don't do a geocities or the like. Have it professional. A small website isn't really that expensive to run, and adds are a HUGE deterrent.
Well, I hope maybe that helped, at least enough to tide you over until someone who has gone thought the process can chime in, or maybe they already have while I have been writing this. At any rate, I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say about this!
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