How much can you afford to spend on an opportunity?

A basic rule of thumb to use in determining how large of a program one can afford to buy is to take about half of what one can afford to spend, and use it to acquire the opportunity. The rest needs to go to cover overhead. For example, if you have about $2000 saved up, you would end having around $1000 to acquire an opportunity. If you have $1000, then you would have about $500 to spend. For a more accurate assessment, figure out what your entire operating expense will be, from a phone line to getting a computer, to covering a merchant account, and add a MINIMUM of 25% for marketing (this includes advertising, printing up business or sizzle cards, and so on).

What you do NOT want to do is buy an expensive program, and have no money to operate.