The economy of this world depends a lot on the small businesses, it would not be wrong to say that “Small Businesses are the backbone of the global economy“. Running a small business is the most challenging because you have limited resources, limited budget, small teams. It requires an effective project management planning to keep the small business running profitable for years or decades. First of all, hats off to the hard work of all small business owners and now let’s come to the part “how we can streamline operations and drive growth in small businesses“.
If you are a small business owner then you must have experienced the need to improve internal processes or to better manage client’s projects, etc. A well structured project management plan is required to ensure all operations are streamlined and the business is heading towards growth. It takes a lot of time, efforts, and hard work to make a small business run profitable. In order to help small business owners, here we have shared Small Business Project Management Templates for FREE download.
Apart from sharing the free templates. We have covered a lot of important information here i.e. what type of tools you can use to simply the process, step to create an effective project management plan, and much more.
Why Project Management Planning is essential for Small Businesses
As mentioned, resources are limited and the budget is tight, so you have make the use of limited resources in the most efficient manner. You cannot go wrong with the project management planning because things are limited. So, make sure to do proper research and spend good time on Project Management Planning to ensure everything is well organized and planned.
Here are some of the reasons why you should spend time on Project Management Planning:
Proper Utilization of Resources: In most of the small businesses, there is a limited manpower, time, and budget. So, it essential to have a solid place at place top ensure resources are utilized effectively to maximize efficiency.
Increases Work Productivity: A project management plan acts like a roadmap for team members, they know what they need to do and what’s the timeline. It keeps them focused and keep them in line with the project goals or objectives.
Ready for Challenges: During the planning, you sense what type of challenges or hurdles will come in the way and you plan to tackle them in advance. This practice minimize the chances of project failure because you’re already planned.
Client Satisfaction: The client will be happy if you are delivering a project on time. This is the whole reason why we creata a project management plan because helps to build trust and credibility with the client.
Printable Project Management Plan Template
Here is a FREE project planner that you can use. Different elements of this planner are briefly discussed below:
- Project Title: Mention the name of a project
- Description/ Objective: The goals or objective has to very clear.
- Start Date: Write down the start date
- Deadline: Highlight the project deadline
- Brainstorm: You can put your ideas in this section
- Resources: List down the resources you have i.e. manpower, budget, equipments, etc
- Task Description: Break down the project into different tasks and write them here.
- Priority: Set priority of each task
- Deadline: Make sure to have a deadline for each task.
- Notes: If you have any additional notes then write them here.
How to Create a Project Management Plan
Here is a step by step to create an effective project management plan,
Step 1: Define the Project Scope and Goals
It is essential to define project scope and goals. Goals should be very clear because the entire work plan is designed accordingly. Make sure to have a clear idea about the purpose of the project. Once goals are clear, you can proceed to outlining the deliverables, timelines, and overall objectives. Clear goals are the foundation of any project plan.
Step 2: Break the Complete Project into Multiple Tasks
The entire project may seem like a bit overwhelming to achieve, so it’s always to break it down into smaller and manageable tasks. For example, let say you have a project timeline of 1 month then what you can do is break it down into weekly tasks and set goals for each week. Using this approach, you can easily handle projects with a bigger timeline.
Step 3: Allocate Resources
Resources are required for the accomplishment of each task. So make sure to allocate resources very smartly. Make the most out of manpower, equipments, and finances by allocating them properly. It’s best to allocate work among team members as per their skill set or expertise.
Step 4: Make sure to have a Communication Plan
A lot of unwanted issues or problems comes when you have a good communication among team members or departments. Make sure to have an effective communication plan to ensure things are going in a correct direction. Schedule meetings, you may use a project management tool, etc to ensure communication issues are addressed.
Step 5: Track the Progress
Always remember “Tracking is as important as planning”. Make sure to keep a track of work progress to ensure things are on track. Address the issues and solve them. Be flexible and ready in your approach because unexpected challenges may arise many a times.
What type of tools you can use for Project Management
Even though we have shared FREE templates here but still here is a list of tools that you may consider using depending on your budget and preference:
- Trello
- Asana
- Monday.com
- Slack
- Google Workspace
Choose a tool as per your team size, project need, and budget. Some of these tools are available for free and some could be paid.
Conclusion
Project management is very important for small businesses because of limited resourced and budget. You can make an effective use of resources and busget once there is a well structured project management plan. A lot depends on the work planning so make sure to spend good time on it.
We have already shared some of the useful project management templates here, you can choose to use any of template that works best for you. The whole purpose of using a template is to simplify complex tasks and achieve goals efficiently. Clear goals, clear communication, realistic planning, and the ability to tackle challenges are some of the things you need to succeed in any project.