Over the last decade, the internet has put the world at our fingertips. Buying goods and services has changed radically and continues to evolve on a daily basis. Nowadays, it’s imperative for a new business owner to include internet marketing in the business plan. The question is, where to start?

Since there are so many choices and opportunities out here, it’s a good time to pause do some prep work. If you look at what’s available, it’s clear that some people are online solely to make money while others feel they have an important message to get across to others. Others combine producing income and delivering a message. For an aspiring entrepreneur, it’s good to know what motivates you.

First: A “Type A” business person is driven to selling something and creating as much profit as possible. So long as the potential for great return is there, the particular product or service is secondary. Type A wants big returns.

Second: You have something that is a core value, and communicating about the issue or cause is part of your personal dynamic. When people see you, they know what you are about. Your driving force could be spiritual or material, but you are not driven by money. You may actively resist the attraction of money or you could be at ease with creating abundance.

Third: Most people want to be contributors and to make money doing something they enjoy. They believe that it’s perfectly OK to be compensated well for giving others what they ask for. Most entrepreneurs are not active for only the money or the issue, but when looking in the mirror, they want to feel good about what they are doing. What’s important is to know one’s prime motivations.

Confusion results from a lack of clarity. When you don’t know where you are headed, its easy to get distracted and waylaid by things that jump in front of you. It’s like a kid at the fair where everything looks good, regardless of its true value. Watch out for the cotton candy.

We really do attract what we put out there. Clear intent produces clear results, and vague intent produces unpredictable results. That is why it’s so important to spend some effort around intentions, goals, and values. They are all related to success in any endeavor. Just know that results follow intentions, whether those intentions are conscious or unconscious.

This is a good way to get clear. Find a place where you will not be disturbed by phones or others. Sit down, lie down, or do whatever you need to do to find calm. Clear out whatever is going on in your thoughts and come to a place of relaxed calm. Now ask yourself why you are considering an online business. What drives you? Where do yo want to go with the business. What do you want to achieve or create or deliver? Now, look down the road and see yourself as a successful entrepreneur. How does that look to you?

The exercise only helps you see what you know. It doesn’t create anything you haven’t put in place. Try being with it and see where it takes you.