When I restarted riding 17 years ago, the closest bike shop was 40 miles away. I learned to do minor adjustments and gradually more extensive repair work out of necessity. I bought a repair book and fumbled my way through most jobs. I could mail order parts and needed tools quicker than I could make a couple of trips to the shop, and usually for less $. Over time I have collected most of the reasonably inexpensive tools needed for bike repair and have become reasonably skilled at working on my bikes.
Jobs requiring expensive tools I either take to the shop or borrow the tools from them (now that there is a truly "local" bike shop). I true my wheels, but have not built wheels yet.
I have built several bikes from bare frames, some for myself, some for others, and have completely disassembled and rebuilt all my bikes a few times to keep everything clean and working right.