Effective project management for small businesses

What is project management?

Are you a solopreneur or small business owner looking to scale your operations? Mastering effective project management is crucial to your success. 

The definition of project management from The Association for Project Management (APM) is “project management is the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management has final deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget.”

Which sounds really complicated but basically means delivering projects on time, within budget, and to the expected quality. In my professional career, I was a project manager within a large pharmaceutical organisation. I worked with the scientists at our facility to manufacture drug products for our clients (other pharmaceutical companies), and for each project we had to deliver a product that met specifications, and we had to do this on time, and within budget. As I climbed the corporate ladder, my role changed somewhat and instead of managing client projects, I was more focussed on improving processes, rolling out training in the tools & templates, and coaching/mentoring my teams across Europe and the US.

That said, most people will actually use project management skills in their everyday lives, they just might not realise it. One example of a large household project might be a home renovation or extension. I ripped out the back of my house 7 years ago and did a small extension - and I have to admit thought that I didn’t do a great job project managing it!! I was too busy with work, and didn’t dedicate enough time to organise and oversee the tradesmen.

Another household project might be hosting a party. Pre-covid we used to host an annual fireworks event and I loved the process of pulling together all the pieces of this ‘project’.

Even my 13 year old daughter is learning project management skills as she plans her bedroom renovation and her birthday party! She’s become a huge fan of Pinterest to create mood boards.

In the slide below are a list of skills I compiled that project managers are likely to use (in no particular order!), and I’m sure you’ll agree that there are lots of things on this list that you already know and do.

project management skills list including goal setting, planning, effective communication, monitoring finances and more

Benefits of project management

You might be thinking, ‘Why is project management so important for my small business?’ Well, let me tell you how it can transform your operations.

Here are my thoughts on why project management is beneficial for small businesses.

Resource allocation

As your business grows, the complexity of your operations are likely to increase. Effective project management ensures that resources - time, money and people - are allocated efficiently minimising waste and maximising productivity.

Goals and objectives

Project management can help define clear goals and objectives. This clarity is essential for small businesses, ensuring that everyone is moving in the same direction. It can be very easy to veer off track. I like to check-in with my future vision and goals regularly, usually this is when I’m doing my quarterly planning.

Improved planning and scheduling

With project management, small business owners can develop detailed plans and schedules which are essential for handling an increased workload and complexity. Proper planning helps to meet deadlines and avoids mistakes. I have also used my Asana project management tool to create templates that I can leverage to save time for repeatable projects like programme launches and running events. I’ve also got a few personal projects as templates within the system, like hosting a party or Christmas planning.

Risk management

Scaling an operation comes with risk, and project management provides tools and methodologies to identify, assess and mitigate risks. Risk management was a key part of my job as a project manager in the pharmaceutical industry; it’s something that we do at the start of a project, but it’s also important to revisit risks throughout the project lifecycle. It’s one part of project management that I don’t particularly love, and find it a little dull tbh - but it’s crucial - and you can make it easier by leveraging tools and templates.

Better communication

Effective project management promotes clear communication within the team and with stakeholders. This is vital for small businesses to ensure transparency, accountability and collaboration as they grow. As a solopreneur you might engage with contractors to deliver parts of your service or to help you with particular tasks or projects. Communication is critical to ensure everyone is on the same page, and are aligned with the business goals and objectives. 

Customer satisfaction

By delivering projects on time, and within budget, and to the expected quality, effective project management helps in increasing customer satisfaction which is crucial to retain clients and gain new ones as the business grows. And it’s not just about delivering the end project. I think when we are consistent with our communication throughout the project lifecycle - delivering status updates when we said we would for instance - this can build trust with our customers.

Monitoring performance

Project management encourages continuous monitoring and evaluation of performance, helping small businesses to track progress, measure success and make data-driven decisions. I’m a huge fan of maths - it was my favourite subject at school - and so I love tracking the metrics.

Key project management principles for small businesses

Within a small business, projects can take on many different forms. For example:

  • Recruiting a new team member

  • Designing a new product

  • Launching a service

  • Creating or redesigning a website

  • Installing a new piece of software, or upgrading software

  • Rebrand

  • Office relocation

  • Sustainability initiatives

  • Event planning

  • Social media or marketing campaign

  • Launching a podcast

Project management principles, as outlined below, can be used irrespective of the project type.

Setting clear objectives

It’s important to define clear, specific and measurable goals for each project. The objectives should align with the overall business strategy and future vision, and provide direction for the team. SMART goals is a framework often found within the corporate world where you ensure the goal you set is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. I think there’s a tendency for people to set general goals that are a bit woolly. It’s important to figure out how you will know if you’ve achieved your goal (which will help you determine what to measure) and also set a deadline. I do however think the concepts of ‘achievable’ and ‘realistic’ might lead someone to play it safe, and stay within their comfort zone. Friend and fellow entrepreneur, Marie-Claire Donnelly, shared her own take on SMART goals in her book ‘It Is What It Is’, and I’ve shared it here in this blog post.

Creating details plans

With clarity over the goals and objectives, a detailed plan can be created that outlines the milestones, tasks, timelines and any deliverables. This detailed plan will serve as the roadmap, guiding the team from start to finish.

If you haven’t heard of it, the website goblin.tools is really clever and can help you breakdown a project into individual steps.

Risk management

Take the time at the planning stage to identify potential risks, and develop strategies to mitigate these. You might also want to consider contingency plans, if the risk does materialise.

Effective communication

Give some thought to the stakeholders that you might need to keep informed about the project and/or business, and decide in advance the frequency and format of updates. This will ensure that everyone is informed and engaged, and will reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings. And be realistic about what you commit to, as it’s important to be consistent with your communication to build trust.

Time management

Adhere as best you can to the project timelines and deadlines. There are lots of different time management techniques that you can use for this, I’m a massive advocate of time blocking.

Budget management

Ensure there is clarity over the budget as part of the project planning, and monitor this as the project progresses. You can track the variance to the plan, which is a great metric to review regularly. I like to keep things as simple as possible, and so I use a Google sheet for my budget and financial tracking which has the budget in one column and in the adjacent column I can populate the actuals as the month progresses.

Change management

Another key part of project management is dealing with change. Be prepared to adapt to change, it’s crucial in dynamic business environments. Adjust the plan if necessary, but be sure to track any changes because it’s easy to forget decisions made further down the road. Proper record keeping facilitates transparency, accountability and future planning. If you’d like to read more on dealing with change, this blog post I wrote for Digital Boost shares more.

Monitoring performance and continuous improvement

Small businesses should be monitoring performance against agreed metrics, and this can be used to identify areas for improvement. There are a whole host of metrics that I track each month including sales, revenue, website traffic, social media followers, email open rate and click rate, new customers, number of discovery chats and more.  

Encouraging a culture of continuous improvement is important; ideally you want to learn from each project and capture these lessons in a Lessons Learned Log. This can help enhance future projects.

Customer focus

Keep the customer in mind. This might be an external customer if you are delivering a product or service, but it could also be internal customer service within your team. This stuff might seem obvious, but I used to train all my team members on customer service to set that expectation. Don’t assume that everyone thinks in the same way that you do.

Project close-out

When the project comes to a close, you will want to hold a formal close-out meeting. In this meeting you can review what went well, and what could be improved. Document any lessons learned, and celebrate the successes too. Ensure that all the deliverables were met, update any metrics tracking and archive the project files.

Here are some things you might want to consider for closing out a project:

  • Have all the project deliverables been completed?

  • Were the project objectives met?

  • Close any contracts if applicable.

  • Confirm final payments have been received and/or made.

  • Close the project accounts.

  • Archive all project documentation, emails etc.

  • Close out project risks and issues.

  • Conduct a lessons learned meeting with the team.

  • Document lessons learned for future projects.

  • Update relevant project status reports.

  • Communicate the closure of the project with stakeholders.

  • Conduct a client satisfaction survey.

Tools and techniques tailored for small teams

Utilising the right tools and techniques can make a significant difference in the efficiency and success of projects.

Asana

Asana is a versatile project management tool that helps individuals and small teams track their work, from daily tasks to strategic initiatives. I love it, and use the tool to manage my business, as well as my life! It’s like my second brain.

With Asana you can:

  • Create and delegate tasks, set due dates and track completion

  • Organise projects for clear visibility

  • Track progress through timelines, Kanban boards or calendar views

  • Collaborate with others, leaving comments or sharing files all in the one place

Other tools and techniques

Other project management tools and techniques might include:

  • SMART goal setting

  • Prioritisation based on urgency and importance, such as the Eisenhower matrix

  • Time blocking, I live by my colour-coded and time blocked Google calendar 

  • Risk management

  • Google drive to store files, templated docs and more

  • Regular check-ins, such as a daily team huddle or weekly status updates - Slack might be a useful platform for team communication

  • Note taking software, such as Otter.ai

Conclusion

Effective project management is a vital skill for small business owners, especially when scaling operations. By mastering project management, you can enhance your resource allocation, set clear goals, and improve planning and scheduling. Trust me, once you get the hang of it, project management can be a real game-changer for your business!

Implementing key project management principles such as clear objective setting, detailed planning, efficient resource management, and continuous improvement can significantly streamline operations. Leveraging the right technology can also be impactful. Tools like Asana offer versatile solutions to manage tasks, track progress, and facilitate collaboration, making it easier for small businesses to stay organised and achieve their objectives. Asana has been a life-changing system for me and my business.

Have you tried using any project management tools in your business? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.

Oh, and it’s also worthwhile me pointing out that I do offer project management consultancy services for small businesses, as well as a done-for-you Asana service. Please contact me for more information.

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Anti-goals and a not to do list