Mark, you are not at a disadvantage by using your hands. I routinely prefer to use hand techniques for making small batches. And when I do use a mixer I only mix for 5-6m max and then finish the doughs by hand. The biggest differences you will see between a machine or mixer dough versus one made by hand is the look of the crumb. Hand mixed doughs, if you don't over do it will often have a more open crumb with larger bubbles compared to a machine mixed dough. But generally speaking, you can make the same quality dough using your hands or a mixer. If doing it by hand, rather than just kneading, you should look into kneading just enough to get the dough together, then resting it, followed by stretch and folds to build strength. Repeat with the rest and folds as needed.
