Do you REALLY need a project management tool as a female entrepreneur and online business owner?
The short answer is YES.
The long answer can be found in this blog post (so keep scrolling 😉).
If you want the cliff notes version, here it is:
You need a project management tool even if you use a digital calendar or paper planner or both. You need one even if (especially if) you buy and use all the notebooks and sticky notes from Target. You need one if you just started your business or have been in business a long time. You need one if you’re a solopreneur or working with a team. You need one if you’re already using client management software. You need one even if you think you’ve got your ISH together without one.
Are you sensing a theme here? Good, you should!!
Because you need a project management tool for so. many. things.
If you aren’t using one yet or aren’t using yours daily; please keep reading so I can convince you why you should!!
(This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase using these links.)
LET ME FIRST CLARIFY WHAT A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL IS . . .
Simply put, a project management tool helps you plan and manage projects by giving you a space to write out all of your tasks, organize them into different views, set deadlines, assign tasks to yourself and others, and label everything with tags.
A good project management tool will also give you a way to separate those projects AND give you a bird’s-eye view of everything you have to do.
But I believe you can do SO MUCH MORE with a project management tool if you set it up to work FOR YOU!!
For example, I use Asana (my project management tool of choice) to organize, manage, and plan out MY ENTIRE BUSINESS including business info and admin, business education, content ideas, evergreen sales funnels, product outlines, and course creation, launch plans, client notes and projects, recurring tasks, workflows, and more!!
When I say I use Asana for everything, I mean EVERYTHING. And so should you!!
But I know you have your doubts. So let me crush them for you!! 👊🏻
Related Post: The Difference Between Systems, Tools & Templates You Need to Know
YOU STILL NEED A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL IF YOU USE A DIGITAL CALENDAR, PAPER PLANNER, OR BOTH
A digital calendar is not (I repeat NOT) a project management tool. A digital calendar is for scheduling things with set dates and times like events, meetings, and appointments.
Can you also put due dates and deadlines on your digital calendar? Yes. Can you plan out when you’ll tackle a project? Absolutely. Can you set up recurring events or tasks? Of course. But you can NOT organize, manage, or store a ton of information, ideas, or even detailed project plans for your business. It’s just not equipped for or even meant to do that.
A paper planner is also NOT a project management tool because a paper planner acts very much like a digital calendar but in paper form. A paper planner is much better suited for planning out your days and weeks.
And using the two together does NOT a project management tool make because you still CAN’T organize, manage, or store information, ideas, or detailed project plans for your business like you can in something like Asana.
You can; however, use a digital calendar AND/OR paper planner WITH a project management tool like Asana. I do every day!!
- I use my digital calendar for anything with a scheduled date and time.
- I use my paper planner to plan out exactly what I’ll work on each day and when. (Time blocking for the win!!)
- And I use Asana as my digital home base for everything else (see extensive list above).
Using a digital calendar and/or paper planner is great, but a project management tool will help you do so much more!!
YOU STILL NEED A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL IF YOU BUY AND USE CUTE NOTEBOOKS AND STICKY NOTES FROM TARGET
I know we all love to browse the notebook and office supply aisle at Target, and come home with all the cute things, but I can pretty much guarantee you aren’t running your business well at all if you are working out of a bunch of notebooks and off of a million sticky notes.
Take it from someone who actually DID run her business out of a bunch of notebooks and off of a million sticky notes: I was drowning, you guys. Literally and figuratively drowning… in a sea of cute notebooks and colorful sticky notes.
I was stressed all of the time. I could never find the ONE thing I needed WHEN I needed it. And every single task took me hours because NOTHING was really streamlined, organized, or systemized. (Color-coded, yes, but that wasn’t enough to help me manage or run a business.)
I spent more time SEARCHING THROUGH those dang notebooks and sticky notes trying to find something; and even more time trying to figure out (read: remember) what to do with it when I found it than I did ACTUALLY WORKING.
That is no way to run a business, y’all!! Especially not long-term.
If you’re currently using a bunch of notebooks and sticky notes to run your business and you feel like you’re in over your head, a project management tool will be your lifeboat!!
YOU STILL NEED A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL IF YOU JUST STARTED YOUR BUSINESS OR HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS A LONG TIME
It doesn’t matter if you’ve owned your business for 1 day or 3,650 days (that’s 10 years, by the way), a project management tool will help you take your business to the next level (and beyond as Buzz Lightyear would say 🚀)!!
For the first almost 2 years of running my own business, I was a hot freaking mess behind-the-scenes. (Drowning in a sea of cute notebooks and colorful sticky notes, remember?!)
Then I got smart and started using schedules, routines, and systems to be a better (less stressed, more streamlined) business owner.
That’s when I discovered the ✨ MAGICAL ✨ world of project management tools and EVERYTHING changed.
Not a day goes by that I don’t use Asana…
- If I’m working on a new course or digital project, I’m using my Product Builder template.
- If I’m planning out a launch, I’m using my Launch Planner template.
- If I’m mapping out a new evergreen sales funnel, I’m using my Funnel Mapper template.
- If I’m working on my content marketing plan for the month, I’m using my Marketing Map.
- If I’m taking notes on a course, I’m putting them into my Business Education project.
- If I thought of a blog post idea in the shower, I’m putting it into my Content Idea Bank.
- If I need my professional bio for an upcoming podcast interview I’m doing, I’m copying and pasting it from my #AllThingsBusiness project.
And so on and so forth.
There IS a better way of running and managing a business and it’s with a project management tool (like Asana) by your side!!
YOU STILL NEED A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL IF YOU ARE A SOLOPRENEUR OR HAVE A TEAM
Just like it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business, it really doesn’t matter if you are doing things solo or with a team. You still need a project management tool to run and manage a business successfully.
If you are a one-woman show, you need a project management tool to help you stay focused, organized, and on top of all the business things. (And before you say a project management tool is TOO MUCH for one person, I promise you, it’s not. It’s EXACTLY what you need when you’re doing all the tasks, wearing all the hats, and spinning all the plates!!)
If you are working with a team, you need to give your team access to all the business things as well as assign them tasks to do and keep track of everything everyone’s doing all at the same time. (You can do all of that and more with a project management tool!!)
A project management tool will not only change the way you DO business, but it will also change the way you FEEL about your business!!
YOU STILL NEED A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL IF YOU ALREADY USE CLIENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
I’ve had many a female entrepreneur tell me (quite emphatically, I might add) that they don’t NEED a project management tool because they ALREADY USE a client management software (like 17Hats, Honeybook, or Dubsado).
I hate to burst their bubble (and yours, if you were also thinking that), but client management software is NOT a project management tool.
Client management software is for CLIENTS. Client acquisition, client proposals, client contracts, client invoicing, client scheduling, client communication, client workflows, and the storing of client information. (It also automates many of those things to save you time!!)
But notice the common denominator in that list of features: CLIENTS.
Client management software wasn’t built as a Jack of all trades, which means you STILL need something like Asana to help you do everything else in your business!!
AND FINALLY, YOU STILL NEED A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE YOUR ISH TOGETHER WITHOUT ONE
I see you hunched over your laptop, work, work, working away, thinking you’ve got your ish together with no project management tool in sight. I see you getting up early, chugging coffee, flitting from task to task, staying up way too late, and wondering what in the world you did all day as you lay awake for hours at night.
I hate to break it to you, but what you’re doing isn’t working.
Running your business out of those cute notebooks and sticky notes is only perpetuating that feeling of overwhelm. And we all know what overwhelm leads to, don’t we?
Burnout. Which, sooner or later, leads to you closing your business’ virtual doors.
I don’t want that for you. I know YOU don’t want that for you either.
So will you do me (and yourself) a favor? Look into adding a project management tool to your tech stack!! There are a bunch of them out there, but I love (like LOVE) Asana. So I recommend you try that!!
And if you’re worried about how much time it will take to get set up and organized… let’s just say, I’ve got you covered!! 😉
Before you go, make sure you join the waitlist for THE BRAND NEW (FULLY LOADED) Asana Assistant Version 3.0!! Then pop into the comments if you still need convincing about this whole project management business!!
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Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post could be affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through my link at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I personally use, love, and feel make a difference in my business and could do the same for you.