You are smart to research. Research everything ALOT!
I did the same thing but almost didn't because of all the horror stories of doing it wrong, water seeping under something and destroying walls, molding or worse.
I see you're in california so I assume you have a concrete slab? Most commonly you would have a concrete guy come in to create your base (slope has to be to code), and the "curb" where the door goes. Then you have a different guy come in to hot mop the floor. Then figure out how to seal the walls (tile and just about everything else is porous). Plumbing comes in the middle somewhere, then tile, then doors, finish work, etc., etc., etc., ETC.!!
I just about gave up until I found this "kit":
Schluter-KERDI-SHOWER-KIT - Schluter-Systems
It's still a very time consuming job but every single step I was comfortable doing myself and it turned out pretty awsome.
I'm not related in any way to the company.
Plan on going over budget by at least 50% and double the time you think it will take.