A Message About Entrepreneurial Efficiency for the Random Guy in the Grocery Store
Entrepreneur Office Hours - Issue #273
I was at the grocery store this week wrangling my kids and trying to get through my shopping list when a guy stopped me. “Hey, you’re that entrepreneurship professor, right?” he asked.
I nodded, expecting a quick comment about startups or social media, but he had more on his mind. He started telling me about all the businesses he was working on — an app, an e-commerce store, some kind of consulting business, a new SaaS product, and even something involving real estate.
I congratulated him — because, honestly, I respect the hustle — but as I walked away, something about our conversation stuck with me. And the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I’ve been worrying about him.
Like I said, I was focused on getting my kids through the store without breaking anything, so I wasn’t super-locked-in on what he was telling me. But now I’m hoping he’s reading this, because I want to offer a gentle caution: be careful about spreading yourself too thin.
I say this not because I don’t think he’s smart or hardworking. Quite the opposite. He clearly has the drive to chase opportunities. But the thing about entrepreneurship is that success doesn’t come from chasing opportunities — it comes from committing to one.
I know this because I’ve made the same mistake throughout my entrepreneurial career, but it was especially egregious when I was younger. Back then, I thought being an entrepreneur meant launching as many things as possible. I had a handful of side projects, a startup I was running, and another idea I was tinkering with in my spare time. I was always busy — always working — but not really moving forward. I was so scattered that none of my ventures ever had the focus they needed to truly take off.
It took me years to understand that being busy isn’t the same as being productive. The key to success isn’t doing more, it’s doing the right things — again and again — until they work. That doesn’t mean you won’t be working on different aspects of your business. Of course you will. But all of that work needs to be focused around your one thing — your it.
If you’re an entrepreneur juggling multiple ventures right now, ask yourself: Am I building a bunch of things, or am I building one thing well? The most successful founders I know aren’t the ones chasing five ideas at once. They’re the ones who find their it and pour everything they have into making it succeed.
And to the guy I met in the grocery store: I hope you’re doing great. And I hope you’re not really trying to run five businesses at once. If you are, consider this a friendly nudge to pick the one that truly excites you, the one with the most promise, the one you can’t stop thinking about. Then go all in. Because if you don’t, you’ll probably end up like I did so many times early in my entrepreneurial career — spinning your wheels, working hard, but not getting anywhere.
-Aaron
This week’s new articles…
The Tricky Thing Venture Capitalists Understand About Startups That Most Entrepreneurs Don’t
You’ll become a better entrepreneur simply by studying how venture capitalists think about investing.
The Only Thing You’ll Need to Know About Building Your Startup’s Brand
Lots of entrepreneurs obsess about their brands, but, ultimately, only one thing actually matters.
Office Hours Q&A
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QUESTION:
Hey Aaron,
I've reached what you call a good problem :)
I'm in the midst of setting up a new business. With the help of crowdfunding I've managed to get my first 500 paying clients, and more than 100K to invest in the first year of this business.
But I have a dilemma and I have no idea how to go about it –
I'm not sure whether I should invest in expensive infrastructure or stay scrappy and frugal until I grow more.
I need to make sure I'm not throwing money on things that might turn out to be unnecessary. But I also wouldn't want to accidentally hinder my growth.
Your thoughts, Sensei?
Bar
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You’re right That is a great problem… congrats!
But definitely a tricky one. You’re right to realize you’re at an important inflection point in your growth, and the decisions you make now are going to have a major impact on your venture’s long term viability, so you need to choose wisely (no pressure!).
The correct answer here is: “Stay frugal, but don’t be cheap.”
The difference between being frugal and being cheap comes down to how you prioritize spending. Frugality is about being intentional — investing in things that create real leverage for your business while avoiding waste. Being cheap, on the other hand, is about limiting costs for the sake of limiting costs, often at the expense of long-term growth.
So, how do you make that distinction when deciding where to put your hard-earned cash?
Start by asking yourself: What spending decisions will have the biggest impact on revenue and customer experience in the next 12 months? That’s where your money should go first. Worthwhile investments are anything that directly contributes to delivering your product/service more efficiently, scaling your ability to acquire customers, or increasing customer retention. Full stop. Customers are always most important.
But — and this is a big but — you also want to avoid spending on infrastructure that assumes future success rather than supporting current traction. A lot of founders get their first real cash infusion and immediately think, We need a slick office! We need a robust tech stack! We need the best tools money can buy! But at this stage, your goal isn’t to build the infrastructure of a company that might exist in five years — it’s to maximize the momentum of the one that exists right now.
For example, let’s say you’re debating investing in a top-tier CRM system. If your current process is messy and costing you conversions, it could be worth the spend. But if you’re still manually managing a small client base with no immediate friction, throwing money at expensive software won’t suddenly create exponential growth.
A good way to check yourself is to run every expense through the “pain vs. vanity” filter.
If the spending solves a clear and immediate pain point that’s holding back growth? Probably worth it.
If it’s more about looking impressive or “feeling” like a legit business? Hold off.
Another consideration is how much flexibility your spending allows. Can you make incremental upgrades instead of all-in commitments? Can you rent instead of buy? Can you use freelancers instead of hiring full-time? Keeping your capital as fluid as possible lets you adjust as you learn more about what’s actually working.
And that brings me to one last piece of advice: Don’t spend money to avoid making hard decisions.
By that I mean sometimes founders throw money at problems because it feels like progress. But in reality, the best solutions often come from creative problem-solving, not just writing a check. Before spending, ask yourself, Is this something we truly need, or is there a scrappier way to get the same result?
Hope that helps, and congrats again on hitting such an exciting stage. Just remember, by staying disciplined now, you’ll be in an even stronger position when it’s time to scale up the big infrastructure for real.
Got startup questions of your own? Reply to this email with whatever you want to know, and I’ll do my best to answer.