>Isn't the real message here that we shouldn't forget that many of us startup geeks can completely out-design and -SEO virtually any local service provider out there and that there might just be big money in doing so?

THAT'S IT! I don't think what I did was that difficult (I had luck along the way, and went over the top in some ways,yes) but at the end of the day, I think this is the main takeaway from this experiment.