One of the great attractions in starting an online business is that you can get your business up and running with minimal start-up costs. You can run a Google search and find free web templates, free hosting accounts, free teleconference services, and free PLR content, among other things. However, you need to remember that the old adage is true: you get what you pay for.

It's important to do your due diligence in researching a free product, just as you would with something you would be paying for. Consider the company's reputation, customer satisfaction, and make sure you can terminate or uninstall it if it isn't working for you.

This is not to say that there aren't some great free resources available out there. So how do you know when free isn't really free? Answering the following three questions will help you decide if a free product is really going to be free for you.

1. What is my time worth?

We all have three personal resources to draw from: time; money; and energy. If you're not spending money for an Internet resource or product, chances are you're going to be spending time and energy.

Say you decide to use a free website template rather than hiring a web designer. Unless you know something about web design and html, you will most likely spend a much larger chunk of time to develop your site than a designer would. The web designer charges $75 an hour and it takes them an hour to design your site, while it may take you 6 hours to do the same job. Your time was worth $12.50 an hour. If you consider your time to be worth more than that, say at least $25 an hour, your "free" website template just cost you $75.

2. How much control do I want over details?

Many free resources have limited or no options available to you. It's like buying pre-bagged fruits or vegetables. The quality as a whole might be okay, but each individual piece may not be what you would pick out yourself.

For example, if you choose a free web hosting company, you may be limited to one domain name and not much disk space or bandwidth. When you are just starting out, that might fit the bill. But what if you want more than one domain? Chances are you'll have to pay for each additional site. And what happens when your business grows? How much time, money and energy will you need to spend to upgrade or change hosting accounts?

3. What are my skills and abilities, likes and dislikes?

This is a critical question and it's important to be honest with yourself. Are you a computer techie, or is copywriting your forte? Can you get lost in the creative process, or would you rather be researching new sales techniques?

If you love to write and the thought of free PLR content inspires you, then it's definitely a great bargain. But if you spend hours agonizing over rewriting, formatting, and publishing, then you might be better off paying a ghostwriter or a freelancer. If you're a techie, that free shopping cart software might be a great deal, but if you're not, you may end up paying the support fees for somebody else to clean up the mess you made trying to set it up.

So when deciding if "free" is really free, be sure to calculate the true cost to you in terms of time, money, and energy, as well as whether you're going to be stuck doing something that you truly dislike or that is beyond your ability. The bottom line is that you are going to be spending a certain amount of time, a certain amount of money, and a certain amount of energy operating your business. To be successful, you need to find the balance that works best for you.