The Problem With Trying to Make the "Right" Decision
Entrepreneur Office Hours - Issue #278
College admissions decisions went out recently, and thousands of students around the world are trying to figure out where they’re going to school starting in the fall. Naturally, a small chunk of those students — the ones admitted to Duke — have been dropping in on my campus, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet with lots of them.
And the thing that stands out most is how anxious they all seem. Not panicked. Not overwhelmed. Just quietly, tightly anxious — like they’re walking around with a constant, low-grade fear of getting it wrong. They want to make the right choice. The best one. The one that sets them up for the most successful future.
The anxiety I’m seeing feels familiar. And it’s not just because I see it every Spring. It’s because I see it almost every day when I talk with early-stage entrepreneurs. People who are launching startups, building personal brands, chasing ideas… they all act a lot like college students trying to choose which school to attend. By that I mean they’re all searching for the perfect next move. The ideal co-founder. The exact right idea to work on. And underneath it all is the same fear I see in those admitted students: What if I choose wrong and screw everything up?
But here’s the thing no one tells you early enough — whether you’re picking a school or launching a business: the decision you make isn’t nearly as important as what you do with it once you’ve made it. You don’t need a perfect plan. You need a direction and the willingness to keep going even if you’re not quite sure you’re going in the right direction. In fact, it’s especially important when you’re unsure.
Entrepreneurship, like life, isn’t linear. You’ll change your mind. You’ll pivot. You’ll build things that don’t work. You’ll get it “wrong” more than you get it right. But none of that means you’ve failed. It just means you’re in motion. And motion beats perfection every time.
So if you’re stuck obsessing over the next “right” move — whether that for college or your startup or anything else — try shifting the frame. What’s something you’re curious about? Something you’d be excited to attempt, even if it flops? Start there. You’re not locking yourself into a forever path — you’re choosing a place to begin.
-Aaron
This week’s new articles…
The Critical Startup Skill Nobody Ever Talks About
An entrepreneur’s story about why it’s so easy to build the “right” thing and still have your startup fail.
Are You Ready to Unlock the Most Important Productivity Hack in Entrepreneurship?
Getting more done for your startup in less time than you’d expect is a lot easier than most founders think.
Office Hours Q&A
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QUESTION:
How important is focus really? People always say entrepreneurs need to focus. Is that true? Because I’ve got a bunch of different ideas I’m excited about, and they all feel like they could go somewhere big. Is it actually so bad to be trying a few things at once?
—Maya
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Like a lot of things in entrepreneurship, the real answer here is: it depends.
In the very early days — like when you're still exploring ideas, markets, messaging — focus might not be all that important. In fact, being a little scattered can be a feature, not a bug. After all, trying different things helps you learn faster. You get feedback. You spot patterns. You figure out what has traction and what doesn’t. So if you're still at that exploratory stage? Go ahead. Chase a few threads. That kind of “productive chaos” is how a lot of great companies get started.
But eventually — and usually sooner than you think — you’ll hit a point where lack of focus stops being useful and starts becoming a liability. You’ll have just enough traction in one area to maybe grow it into something real, but you’ll be too busy juggling five other things to give it the attention it deserves. That’s when focus becomes everything.
This is especially true in the sense that focus isn’t just about what you’re doing… it’s also about what you’re not doing. It’s about protecting your time, your energy, your team, and your customers from distractions that dilute momentum. Every hour spent chasing something shiny is an hour you didn’t spend doubling down on the thing that might actually work.
So how do you know when to shift gears from exploring to focusing?
Usually, the answer shows up as a signal: customer engagement, consistent usage, strong word-of-mouth, early revenue, something that tells you this idea is doing more than just surviving — it’s growing. That’s your cue to focus. Until then? Explore. Just do it with your eyes open, and be ready to commit when something starts pulling ahead.
Hope that helps. And for what it’s worth — being excited about multiple ideas is a good sign. It means you’re thinking like a builder. Just don’t let the excitement keep you from recognizing when it’s time to go all-in.
Got startup questions of your own? Reply to this email with whatever you want to know, and I’ll do my best to answer.