It’s a highly personal choice that must dovetail with your own business goals. I’ve seen companies spend from 0.5% of gross sales to 20% (!) of gross sales on their marketing budgets. The good news is that once you build a large enough customer base, it provides a larger repeat and referral base than a new company. Then you can reduce marketing expenses as a percentage of sales.

The bad news is that if your goal is to build a whole new business from the ground up, it will take considerable marketing investment up front to begin to develop your Return on Investment (ROI). You will need to spend more up front before you can begin trimming your marketing budget.