Question for all DJs - Where to begin??

So I've been playing and producing music for about 8 years now and am looking to begin progressing towards the live format.

I feel, for a variety of reasons, DJing will be a good place to start / get my feet wet and need some direction on the most logical way to delve into the the DJing world.

I have the option of purchasing two Technics SL-1200MK2s and a mixer for $800 from a buddy of mine. I understand a good proportion of DJs are transitioning to a fully digital setup with CDJs and the like, yet the vinyl aspect still appeals to me as I recently inherited my dad's vinyl collection of about 3000 records; I'd like to be able to listen to them all and I don't have a record player yet. From my limited understanding, Serato would allow me to use a "blank" vinyl record and have my entire digital music library available for mixing. Is this right?

I'm definitely a tactile person musically, so I don't want to limit myself to using just software. Perhaps one route I could take is just get a hardware mixer and use software like virtual DJ to learn the basics ( I am a PC user by the way and am not well versed in the best software, so some recs would be nice)

So I guess the bottom line is, I'd like to hear how you all got started; what you wish you would have known at the beginning, what you think of the deal my buddy is offering, and some software / hardware recommendations that aren't outrageously priced.