A true beginner (if you learned the moves yesterday) could easily be rated below 500. For some people (like kids) probably below zero heh.
But if you use online resources and work at it, you can get to 1000 pretty quickly.
When I was new chess.com didn't exist, but for reference I started at what would probably be around 1000 and I gained about 100 points a year. (I "started" at 1000 because I played occasionally with my dad and he taught me a little bit). Also for reference 100 points a year is a bit slower than most people, especially these days with so many free resources online.
I don't have any friends who play chess and was wondering if my performance has been improving at a decent rate. What was y'all rating when you just started playing and how long did it take to get where you are?