Don't wait to build a website just because you can't afford to hire someone else to do it for you. The resources are there so just about anybody can build their own online presence. If you know how to send email, use programs like word or other similar programs, you're already halfway to building your own website.
I agree that it would be nice to have someone else do the site for you, but when you hire someone else, you are putting your entire online marketing strategy into someone else's hands. Most people that build websites aren't marketers, there techies and do you really want your IT guy in charge of your online marketing? You know your business best.
Many entrepreneurs and business managers think of a website as an online brochure, but that's not the case. Your website should be an intricate part of your marketing strategy. When you do your web presence right, you're opening a new door to business opportunities that you never knew existed. When you start off building your own website you're taking charge of your marketing strategy.
Many businesses find that after taking their online marketing seriously, offline sales are overcome by online sales even when the customers are local. In fact, local customers are the fastest growing segment of Internet Marketing today.
So now you're convinced you need to build your own site, but you still think you don't have the skills to build a website. That's OK, I thought that once too, but now I'm very proficient in building online strategies. The good news is the CMS or Content Management Systems like Joomla and WordPress make it easy to get started.
You don't even need a designer because there are numerous Website Template clubs that offer designs that plug right into your website system. That saves you a tremendous amount of money and you often end up with a more professional design then would have otherwise got.
If you run into trouble while building your site, you can simply login to any one of the free forums that focus on your website platform and ask how to solve your problem. You will find many responses and even people willing to help you directly solve any problem you may encounter.