Agreed, Phil. Many of us have "been there" with minimal hardware and maximum drive...in the beginning, my partner and I put together our "mini pool" here with an S2 and two S3s (this was before Kano pool). We continued expanding to an A7, a 741, three S7s, and three A6s (which are idle for lack of amps, and serve as spares).

The point of it is that we can accommodate individuals with lightweight gear, have them mine to our address as a separate worker, and I do the accounting for the amount their hash earned on the total. I then send out payouts as there is enough accumulated to justify the expense. We only do this for people we know F2F, however (IOW, if there's a problem in their view they know where to find us). We also encourage them to "save up" and get gear that will make them independent. For these folks, it's not about income, but saving a secure base for the future that's fiat-independent.

FWIW.