Big companies understand how important it is to set a clear objective, get a return on what they’ve spent on it and doing it on time. Project management has traditionally been used for large corporations and not small businesses. The lack of this perspective in a small business is what keeps them small. In this article, we’ll go through the fundamentals on Scaling your Small Business with Project Management.
What is a Project?
Projects vs Operations
A Project is simply a focused effort to achieve a specific goal within a set timeframe. Think of it as a temporary endeavor you put some boundaries around. It has a clear start and finish. Creating a new product or service, alleviating a pain point or making an improvement in your business can be run as a project.
For example, Let’s say you want to improve the customer return rate. Instead of performing random activities and hoping that you magically achieve your objective, managing it as a project allows you to understand ‘why it happened’. Which then positions you to learn and replicate it. That’s how small businesses scale, by structuring their movements and not running it on luck.
Projects require diligence and management. A standard Project Framework will help you to stay organized, ensure consistency, and keep everyone aligned toward the same goals. Ultimately leading to more efficient execution and better results.
Operations are the everyday activities that keep your business running smoothly. Unlike a project, which has a clear start and end, operations are ongoing and repetitive. They are the backbone of your business—the things you do daily, weekly, or monthly to deliver your products or services, manage customers, and keep the lights on.
While projects help you scale and grow your business, operations are about doing what you do well, repeatedly.
When to Treat an Initiative as a Project in a Small Business
Small businesses can’t afford to be fancy. However, they still need to be organized to get to the next level. Not every task or idea in your business needs to be treated as a project. But when an initiative is significant enough to require focused attention, resources, and planning, turning it into a project can be a game-changer. Here’s how you decide when to make that call:
5 Key Criteria when deciding whether it can be a project
- It Involves Multiple Steps or Teams: If an initiative has several moving parts and requires coordination among different team members or departments, it’s a good candidate for a project. Projects help you manage these complexities by breaking them down into clear, manageable steps.
- There’s a Clear Goal and a Timeline: If you have a specific goal in mind (like launching a new product, improving customer service, or expanding into a new market) and you need it done by a certain date, treat it as a project. This helps keep everyone focused and accountable.
- It Requires a Budget or Investment: When an initiative involves spending money—whether it’s on marketing, software, training, or hiring—managing it as a project ensures you’re keeping an eye on costs, tracking ROI, and adjusting as needed.
- It’s About Creating Change or Improvement: If what you’re doing aims to bring about a significant change or improvement—like automating a process, launching a new website, or rolling out a new customer loyalty program—it should be treated as a project. Projects give you a framework to plan, execute, and evaluate the change.
- There’s a Need for Accountability and Measurable Outcomes: When you want to see measurable results and ensure accountability, a project approach is best. With clear deliverables and success criteria, you ensure everyone knows what they need to do and how to measure success.
In a nutshell, if an initiative feels bigger than a routine task, impacts your bottom line, involves a bit of risk, or requires more structure to get it done right, it’s time to turn it into a project. This way, you can keep your efforts focused, your team aligned, and your business moving forward.
Scale your Small Business with a Project Management Framework.
Scaling a small business isn’t just about working harder—it’s about working smarter. This is where a project management framework can make all the difference. A well-defined framework provides a roadmap for turning ideas into actionable steps, managing resources effectively, and tracking progress. It helps you prioritize the right initiatives that will drive growth and prevents you from getting bogged down by day-to-day distractions.
By using a project management framework, you create a structured approach to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. Instead of guessing where to invest your time and money, you make decisions based on data and clear objectives. Each project is mapped to specific goals, benefits, and outcomes, allowing you to focus on what truly moves the needle.
There are core principles of project management that are essential for success. Clear goals, defined roles, and monitoring progress. However, every business owner is different, and each business has its own unique goals, models, and challenges. That’s why a project management framework should be tailored to fit your specific needs, taking into account factors like your business’s maturity, the complexity of your mission, the size of your team, and the resources available.
Proactively Managing Risks and Issues when Scaling your Small Business
A risk is an event that “may happen” in the future that could potentially derails how and when you achieve your goal. An issue is a problem that has already happened and needs immediate attention.
Risks are issues that haven’t happened yet. Having the foresight to identify these risks and take actions to avoid or mitigate them is crucial to project success. Think of it as a “what if” scenario. For example, what if a key supplier suddenly raises prices, or what if a new competitor enters the market? Managing risks is all about identifying these possibilities early, assessing how likely they are to happen, and planning how you will avoid them or reduce their impact if they do occur.
Unlike a risk, which is something that could happen, an issue is something you’re already dealing with. For example, if your website crashes during a critical marketing campaign or a team member suddenly leaves the project, these are issues that require quick action to fix. Managing issues involves assessing how serious they are, prioritizing them, and finding a solution to keep the project on track.
Understanding the difference between risks and issues and how to handle them —is key to managing projects well and scaling your small business.
Tools on Scaling Your Small Business with Project Management
To effectively scale your small business using a project management framework, you don’t need expensive, complex software. You can use affordable and even free tools to provide all the structure needed to keep projects on track and ensure everyone is aligned. The right tools help you organize tasks, set deadlines, track progress, and communicate clearly with your team. They make the difference between chaos and clarity.
6 affordable tools that can help you manage projects without breaking the bank
- Trello: A user-friendly project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help you organize tasks and collaborate with your team. It’s great for visualizing workflows, setting priorities, and tracking progress. Trello offers a free version that is perfect for small businesses.
- Asana: Asana is another popular tool that helps you plan, manage, and track projects from start to finish. It allows you to assign tasks, set due dates, and view progress in various formats, like lists, boards, or timelines. It also offers a free version that is sufficient for small teams.
- Monday.com: This tool provides flexibility with customizable workflows and is great for project tracking, team collaboration, and managing multiple projects. It offers a more visual approach, with various pricing plans to fit different business needs.
- Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): A suite of productivity tools like Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Calendar that are great for collaborative work. Google Sheets can serve as a simple project management tool, allowing you to create basic project plans, assign tasks, and track progress.
- Microsoft Office Suite: You don’t have to look further than the Microsoft tools you may already have. Excel can be used to create project plans and track tasks and budgets, Word for documentation, PowerPoint for presentations, and Outlook for communication and calendar management.
- Notion: A versatile tool that allows you to manage projects, take notes, create databases, and collaborate with your team all in one place. It offers a free plan and is ideal for small teams who want an all-in-one solution.
Use Software to help not hinder
Using the right tools is crucial for effective project management. They help you stay organized, maintain transparency, and keep everyone on the same page. With tools, you can break down projects into tasks, assign responsibilities, set timelines, and track progress—all of which are essential for scaling your small business.
Even basic tools like spreadsheets and documents can work wonders if used correctly. The key is to have a consistent system that everyone follows. This ensures that nothing falls through the cracks, resources are used efficiently, and you have a clear view of where your time and money are going.
Remember, the goal is not to overcomplicate things but to create a structured approach that supports growth and drives results.
5 Problems or Opportunities You Can Turn into a Project When Scaling Your Small Business
Improving Customer Experience
If your customer satisfaction scores are low or you see an opportunity to create a more loyal customer base, this can become a project. For example, you could run a project to audit your current customer service process. Activities such as gathering feedback, implementing new training programs, and setting up a reward system to recognize excellent service can improve Customer Experience significantly.
Launching a New Product or Service
Expanding your product or service line can be a great way to scale your business. Treating this as a project allows you to manage everything from market research and product development to marketing and sales rollout, ensuring you stay on budget and hit your launch targets.
Optimizing Internal Processes
As your business grows, inefficient processes can cost you time and money. You could create a project to review your current operations, identify bottlenecks, and implement automation tools. New workflows to streamline tasks like invoicing, inventory management, or order fulfillment can bring quantifiable benefit. Each Process can form a milestone in your overall project.
Building a Strong Online Presence
If you’re not leveraging digital marketing to its full potential, there’s an opportunity to turn this into a project. The project could focus on optimizing your website or growing your social media following. Implementing an SEO strategy, running targeted social media campaigns, or launching an email marketing program can form part of the milestones. You can aim this at driving more traffic and converting leads online.
Expanding into New Markets
If you’ve identified new geographic or demographic markets that present growth opportunities, you can manage this as a project. Steps might include market research, developing localized marketing strategies, hiring local talent or setting up distribution channels, and measuring the results to ensure successful expansion.
By turning these problems or opportunities into projects, you can create a structured plan for growth, allocate resources wisely, and measure your success more effectively. This project-based approach helps you focus on what matters most and adapt quickly to changing business needs.
Stay Simple when Scaling a Small Business with Project Management
As a small business owner, the key is to keep things simple. Start by testing and experimenting with smaller, manageable projects. This allows you to test what works and what doesn’t without committing large amounts of time or money. By starting small, you can refine your processes, adjust your approach, and build confidence. After you’ve proven success on a smaller scale, you can then gradually expand and invest more. This way, you build with evidence that shows you have a framework that is not only effective but also aligned with your business’s unique path to growth.
The goal is to create a project management approach that is flexible and adaptable. One that grows with your business, evolves with your needs, and ultimately scales your small business sustainably.
Ready to go the journey to scaling your small business with project management. Using a clear and effective project management framework? Contact Growth Strategies 101 today for a risk-free consult. Let’s see how we can help you set up a tailored strategy for your business that drives results and growth.
Sunny Peters 