I've started several small businesses, dating back to 2001, and have never done more than filling out my state corporate commission's articles of organization.

This is not the safest route, but definitely the easiest and cheapest way to get started. Doing this will let you open a business bank account, get merchant services setup, get an EIN (tax id) from the federal government, etc.

In Arizona it takes about 3 minutes and costs $50: http://www.azcc.gov/Divisions/Corporations/forms/starpas/for...