I think the best part about a reseller plan is that your not just jumping into the industry. It's like getting your feet wet. You don't manager the server, you just use it. It helps you develop a knowledge for how the internet works (if you don't already know) and how certain software works i.e. cPanel. I'm pretty sure you won't learn much running a webserver off of windows 98 (could be wrong...i don't know exactly whats available for this type of setup). A reseller account is a great place to start, then as you learn more about the industry and the technical and business aspects, when you think you can make the investment, go to a dedicated server, then 2, then someday, you will reach almost every hosts dream of owning its own datacenter (at least that's mine...).