IMHO is short for In My Humble Opinion
Well, about being small designer, and having small customer I am in your case but I chose to invest in quality hosting to have top notch performances and right now, dedicated box are getting really affordable. I pay 56 euros (w/o taxes, i.e HT) per month, not that much if you consider the security and performance gain... On top of that, add 500 euros a year to have the server handled by a real experienced server admin...
It depends how you position your offer on the market, I chose to try and position myself on the "custom tailored, high quality yet affordable solutions". It seems to work, I have clients coming to me now after 8 months of activity

I am not getting rich yet by any means, but I can support the cost and make a living which is a good start for a young business.