Well, I bought my first home - worst in the street - and it needed a lot doing to it. Didn't have any skills, and I am a short, unfit woman. My partner joined me a couple of months later, and he didn't have any skills either.
I was reasonable at sewing, so I made curtains and fixed that sort of stuff.
I think I started out with a drill and a hammer, and fixed a few easy things. I remember when I bought a belt sander, and he said I would never use it (it has since had several replacement beds - it has had LOTS of use). He got moved to another state, and I made built in shelves down the passage myself (floor to ceiling, 12 foot high), sanded floors, tiled fireplaces, replaced fireplaces, can't remember it all. After 10 years it was completely renovated - one room at a time. We have laws that require all wiring and plumbing to be done by certified tradesmen, the back room was built by a builder, the replaced by a roofer, and the fences were replaced by fencing people, but everything else we did ourselves, and it was usually only me.
Doing a bit at a time, one room at a time meant I never bit off more than I could chew, and each thing I did built my confidence to do more. At first it was just repairs and insulation. Everything was paid for with spare cash, so nothing added to the mortgage.
Having an old house allowed me to learn how to do things without worrying about ruining things - it was so bad there was almost nothing I could do to make it worse. I didn't plan to renovate, it just happened. I don't think I spent anything like the money I made on the house when I sold it.
Doing renovations after living in a house for several years ensures you understand how the house works - where puddles occur, how it changes through the year. You end up with a better understanding of what you want.