In this complete guide to small business project management, we’re going to provide you with all of the tips, tricks, and advice you need for 2024.
Proper project management can be a real game-changer for small businesses.
So, the proof is right there that project management matters. Let’s take a look at some more tips and advice for managing projects as a small business.
7 Benefits of project management for small businesses
1. Stick to budgets and deadlines more easily
When you have a handle on where all of your projects are up to, you’re able to stick to budgets and deadlines more easily. This is because you can get an understanding of what your teams are working on, how long they are going to be working on each project, and how much this is going to cost your business – both in terms of time and resources.
2. Improved communication
Solid communication is so important for the smooth running of any business. And yet, so many businesses still struggle with communication issues.
Project management – especially the use of a project management tool – can eliminate these problems. You can ensure that all communication is kept in one centralised place so that no one ever misses a message again!
3. Better visibility
In addition to improved communication, project management can also give you better visibility over everything that’s happening in your business. You can keep conversations in one place, sure, but also your files, payments, and even your tasks.
With everyone using the same tool to manage their workload, you’ll get better visibility into what people are working on and where projects are up to.
4. Establish accountability
Having a robust project management system in place can help you to foster a culture of accountability within your team. You can ensure everyone has clear roles and responsibilities, and you can also assign tasks that hold team members accountable.
5. Gain actionable insights
When you use a tool for project management, you’ll start to collect data that you can use to gain actionable insights. These insights can help you to make informed decisions that can improve your business operations. One such metric you can measure is time spent on projects. This can help you identify trends (such as which projects are most profitable) and also give you an understanding of which projects you should work on in the future.
6. Happier customers
There’s no doubt that when you manage your projects effectively your customers will become happier as a result. After all, you’ll be ensuring they receive their projects on time and within budget. You’ll be managing expectations, communicating effectively, and be able to foresee any potential bottlenecks or risks. This is all so important for small businesses who want to continue to build trust and loyalty with customers.
7. Easy to scale
As a small business, you’re probably growing all of the time. A benefit of implementing a project management system is that you can easily scale up or down, according to your current workload. When you have a solid system for managing projects in place, it also makes it easier to integrate new hires because you’ll be able to more easily explain how things work in your business.
How to successfully manage projects as a small business
1. Define project requirements
It all starts by making sure you get everything right from the start. Each project you have should begin with a brief that details the specific project requirements. This can include what will be delivered, how long the project is expected to take, and the budget.
You should also outline the project scope here, too. This can be very useful to refer back to later when you’re in the weeds of the project and trying to avoid potentially costly scope creep.
One last thing you should do initially when defining project requirements is allocate your resources. It’s important to determine what resources you will need for the project in order to make sure you have everything you need and that your project runs smoothly.
2. Map out your project
After defining all of your project requirements you can start getting everything in place to begin your project. This includes building your project team and creating a schedule for the project.
Your project schedule will show all of the tasks that need to be completed throughout the project. You should also make room in your schedule for any meetings that are required, such as feedback meetings with stakeholders or update meetings with other members of the team.
3. Focus on clear communication
As your project progresses, one of the best things you can do to ensure everything stays on track is focus on clear communication.
You need to agree on which communication tools to use and how you will communicate. For example:
– External communication via Project.co
– Respond to clients within 2 hours
– Save all files in the shared Google Drive folder
These ‘rules’ may seem simple but it’s so so important to be clear about them and share them with your team anyway. If someone decides to use email to communicate or saves work to their computer instead of a shared folder, then you could end up losing work or getting wires crossed, and that’s ultimately how projects fail!
4. Continuous tracking
Be sure to keep an eye on how things are going with your project. This is the only way to identify potential bottlenecks and make adjustments so that you can avoid any costly delays.
If you do spot any upcoming issues, it’s important to communicate these to your team and project stakeholders, and take a look at your tasks to see if you can move some things around that will help you keep on track!
Speaking of tracking, tracking the time spent on your projects is the perfect way to find out how profitable they are. Over time, this will give you the data you need to discover which projects are worth taking on and which are actually holding your business back.
5. Review and improve
Lastly, don’t forget to evaluate your projects as you close them. Ask yourself important questions, like:
– What went well?
– What would we do differently next time?
All of this information will be extremely valuable in guiding you to take on the best projects for your business in the future. As a small business, you can’t afford to make the same mistake twice so don’t skip this step!
The best project management tool for small businesses
For starters, you want it to be free. Check! You can get started with our project management tool absolutely free. This allows you to play around and see how it would fit into your business before investing any money into it.
You also want it to be easy to use, right? Check! We made Project.co with clients in mind – because so many businesses struggle with getting their clients to actually use their project management tool! – as a result, the platform is really beginner-friendly and you can set up your first project in just a couple of minutes.
Small business project management top tips!
2. Be open and transparent in your communications
3. Learn how to be adaptable
4. Focus on resource management
5. Set realistic deadlines
6. Manage scope creep
7. Monitor progress
8. Celebrate achievements
9. Learn from past projects
10. Utilise tools that can help!
Final thoughts
Project management is essential for any business, big or small. But for smaller businesses it’s especially important to make sure you’re saving as much time and money as possible so you can ensure your projects are successful and profitable.
We believe all businesses should have access to a powerful project management tool to help them get up and running. Create your first project today – it only takes a couple of minutes!
