An hourly wage may be a necessity in the short term but you want to work with someone who is going to help you build clientel. 

It's a necessity if you want to grow to the point where your rental income covers expenses and frees time to work on other ventures, family, etc....at 10% it a bargain once you have scaled up.

A car is just a necessity of life if you don't live in the city... so I minimize that expense.I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so mostly I'm taking the subway into the city or riding my bike for exercise.  

If I were younger and looking to grow a PM would be my only option, not by choice but by necessity.

Cut back on your non necessities and put that money away for when the tenants stop paying and even potentially damage your property resulting in costly repairs.

Although I like my pro membership as it allows me to post in the marketplace, I do not see it as a necessity right away.

So I'm great with business, it, building websites, providing excellent customer service, copywriting, all the necessities when running a company.

So, saving a few bucks is a necessity.

However most PM's own the listing unless you get a cohost, it is an unfortunate necessity due to PMS and Channel Manager.  

I shop for necessity only and live the dollar store.