What is hosting?
Hosting is not access. Registering a domain name doesn't change the way you get to the Internet, but it can change the way you use the Internet. You can become a homesteader or a business owner, not just a stone age hunter-gatherer.
A host (or server) is a computer that is connected to the rest of the Internet "most of the time." It has an address that stays the same long enough for people to find it, "more often than not." That's the basic idea. Of course it's even nicer if it's up all the time, and you can find it at the same place every time. You also want it have a fast connection (so it responds quickly) and lots of bandwidth (so it can move big files).
For a business, having a server with a fixed address rather than a home dialup is very much like having a store on Main Street instead of selling stuff out of the trunk of your car.
The bad news is that, like the store on Main Street, a fixed location on the Internet has costs.
Can you get around those costs? Some of them, yes. There is "sweat equity" -- Bill Gates may think the 486 PC is obsolete, and schools and business routinely give them away; but one of them has years of use left if you're willing invest a little time and effort installing a free version of Unix, such as Linux or BSD.
You can give up some convenience -- if your needs are modest, you can sign up with a service that will link your domain name to a dynamic IP address rather one that is permanently assigned to you. The address your ISP gives you becomes your domain's IP address for the duration of each phone call you make. If you have unlimited local calling, you may be able to stay connected for hours a day or even days at a time.
But let's be realistic -- living in a basement the first year after college is fun and romantic, but the romance soon fades. If you are trying to put a small business on the Web, you don't need that sort of romance; you need a webserver that people can actually get to. You might consider running that Linux PC on an office DSL (digital phone) line. The performance isn't bad and, depending on your phone company, your IP address will probably stay the same for long periods of time. You'll definitely want a battery backup (a "UPS"), and it's a good idea to harden the machine against attempts to break in over the network. ("Hardening" mostly means turning off all services except the web page you want people to see. It can also include a software "firewall" that comes for free with a Linux installation.)
If you have a do-it-yourself spirit, this is a possible solution. We'll be happy to sell you a few hours of consulting time to get it working well. But let's look at another option that will give you more bang for your buck.
Shared hosting means you get a piece of a larger, more capable machine. The box is busy enough to justify attention from a more skilled administrator, and it can pay for its keep in an ISP's data center, not be underfoot in your office. The data center air-conditioning is set to machine-friendly temperatures and the power is filtered through giant banks of batteries like those used by phone companies. Best of all, the machine is directly on the Internet backbone for snappy response and great bandwidth.
Don't forget, your "co-located" machine can do more than serve an online brochure for your company. It is also the ideal place to have your email delivered and held for you. No more fred1862@yahoo.com, no more TheCarGuy9846aol.com. Best of all, you get a level of individual attention that is indescribable to a victim of what passes for mass-market "customer service." Someone bothering you with spam mail? Tell your admin and watch that spam just disappear.
Interested? Want to know more? Write to Brass Cannon. There's no obligation.