I understand what you're saying and you've made some very good points.

I'm really glad to hear that you're taking the business plan seriously. By doing that you're fifty times (yup you read that right) fifty times more likely to succeed for longer than a year, than someone who goes in blind. Blind optimism is suicidal when it comes to business.

I really can understand your desire to own gear rather than renting it. I understand the point about collecting it and practicing but what Turnmedia wrote is absolutely true..."There's nothing worse than buying something and then six months later wishing you had gone that bit more and bought the thing that does the job properly and completely." That sentence will come back to haunt you, the only question is how much money it'll refer to.

When running a business it's vital that you're totally honest with yourself. I've made purchases which I've justified to the accountant by saying "I'll recoup the money because it's gear I now don't have to rent" and justfied it to the wife by saying "It's something I can sell on ebay if times get rough". Both are sort-of untrue, I buy the gear because I like having it. (Just going down into the cellar and playing with it is fun.) As long as you're honest with yourself, then you shouldn't risk losing the plot but if you go out and buy gear now, you'll risk the whole venture.

Finally: working for someone else to gain experience is good. Making mistakes with your customers in bad. Getting experienced people to work for you is the best way. You learn from them, your customers get a better product and you make a good impression (if you have to take a loss, then so-what? It's an investment for the futeure in many ways)

PS, In my not-so-humble opinion, the only difference between professionals and amateurs is that professionals charge a fee, amateurs do it for love. There are crap professionals and brilliant amateurs. Being a professional won't earn any respect from me, being a good videomaker will.