Any fear of the FAA is overblown. It's a simple numbers game (lots of pilots/planes/runways/hangars and very few inspectors), an ignorance game (definitive sources for FARs do NOT include FAA inspectors), and a good 'ol boys game.
The fear is attention from certificated operators. Fortunately, that's easy to avoid also:
1) Do not, under any circumstances, ever, never, ever hold out.
2) Conduct your business an arm's length away from the airport. Realize that every time someone you do business with comes in contact with someone else from the airport, you will be a topic of conversation. You want that conversation to be in conjunction with full or partial ownership or leasing of an aircraft, not "he's my pilot".
Unless you are holding out, you should not have much fear in any case. The risk is microscopic compared to the financial risk - that's where every headache begins and ends.