I don't think it's a terribly bad idea. As someone said above, doing at least some of the technical legwork yourself will buy you a ton of credibility with exp

I don't think it's a terribly bad idea. As someone said above, doing at least some of the technical legwork yourself will buy you a ton of credibility with experienced programmers when you go to hire. It often becomes somewhat insulting to developers when he/she has to argue schedule with someone with no experience. Often the client thinks it should X should take Y long, and you're telling them that X might not even be possible, but you can do X' in 4 or 10 Y. "What do you mean? You must not be as skilled as so-and-so said you are." However if you've fought even the initial stages of the battle yourself, you understand the idea of the vision, and the reduced scope which is your next step toward the larger goal. Further, we understand that the part of the learning curve you're in right now is the steepest, and if you're willing to endure it you're either stupid or you really do believe in your business.