I am in the planning stages of setting up a company with which I will import goods to sell online. I have received one sample and already have orders flying in. Of course, one of the major considerations I need to make is how to set myself up legally before I ship any product out. So I need to determine whether to set up as an LLC, S-Corp, etc and where. I know there are advantages/disadvantages to each.

Given that the nature of the business will basically be importing from China to Chicago, and then selling online, does anybody have any input as to which type of setup to go for? And are there any advantages to setting up in another state besides asset protection and anonymity? Illinois (especially Chicago) taxes really, really suck so anything I can do to minimize that impact would be of huge help.

A few more details: I will most likely be the sole owner of this company. In the near term, I plan to leave as much income as possible in the company to fuel future growth, and will be maintaining my current full-time job (and benefits). In the long term, I would like for this to replace my full-time income and also provide me with health insurance and retirement benefits.

Thanks.

Greg