In California there is a minimum $800 per year tax on all LLCs regardless of whether or not you made any money from the venture, so that kind of nullifies the p

In California there is a minimum $800 per year tax on all LLCs regardless of whether or not you made any money from the venture, so that kind of nullifies the potential benefits for most people, IMO. $800 is a very real cost and the chances of anyone suing you over a side project are so incredibly remote that a $800/yr insurance policy versus being sued is severely -EV. YMMV in other states.