Thoughts on Project Management

Posted by Tisha Tolar on January 26, 2009

Our friend Ben over at Money Smart Life did a post a while back where he mentioned this:

“I’m great at starting projects but not stellar at completing them. I have a Masters Degree in Project Management and successfully managed many simultaneous software projects at my old job, I should be able to do a better job of managing my personal projects.”

I admit I chuckled a bit about his statement for a moment but quickly came back to reality when I realized I am not that much different (though I do not have a Masters Degree in Project Management). Since becoming a mom, it is rare for me to see very many projects to fruition because of time constraints – that and I am just plain tired by the time the kid goes asleep. Of course I finish the projects that I am paid for but even that is a struggle. Since I have been working from home and don’t have to get dressed but twice a week for the kid’s social calendar, the days, the weeks, the months tend to blend. Just daily it seems that one minute it is 7:25am and the kid is tucked safely on the bus and the next thing I know it is 3:05 and the bus is already dropping the kid off. I had managed to accomplish a few things but nothing near the amount of work I hoped to have accomplished or used to accomplish pre-kid.

It seems that before the kid came along, I could and did spend countless hours writing, painting, organizing, and planning. But now that I really need to do those things, the clock tells me “Sorry, sucker. Today is not the day.” I have been getting increasingly fidgeting and creatively bored as of late. Not because I don’t have things to do, but because I don’t have enough time to devote to the things I want to be doing. Right now, that includes my novel, which I am so close to having completely and officially self-published. This is something that can make me money passively but I haven’t not yet committed to finding the time to do it.

In addition to the standard issue work I must put forth each week, the ladies and I are also working to grow our new company and officially LLC the business, Trifecta Strategies. That also means we have to create a website (thanks Braden!), get the appropriate legal documents prepared, merge existing clients to one central place, AND handle all of the fast growth we have been experiencing in just the last few months. Phew…I don’t know how we do it but I think I can give you a few tips of what we have been doing to make life a little bit more organized, though we have not yet completely mastered total project management.

Online Organization

Because there are three of us handling multiple project loads at a time, we utilize Basecamp to keep our work straight. The simple checklists and multiple ways to view what is coming up has really been a lifesaver since joining forces. It is really easy to use for our writing projects though I understand the program was developed to help manage web development programming projects. We have looked at other online programs to keep us coordinated but so far, Basecamp is the one we prefer. Plus, it is already filled with all of our information and we simply have no time to change it.

Outsourcing

While admittedly outsourcing can sometimes create more work for us, we have ultimately had no choice but to outsource some of the work we do. We work actively with subcontractors, many of whom are on point and reliable which helps us tremendously. The downside to subcontracting work is having to proof and sometimes even re-write entire projects while still paying for a job half-assed done. We have also had instances where the new subs we have started working with fall completely off the face of the earth, without having turned in their work. It can be extremely frustrating to deal with these issues and it is a work in progress to find reliable resources that are willing to stick it out with us.

We have also outsourced our bookkeeping work to someone with an accounting background that none of us possess. Taking one more element of our shoulders has helped a lot. It also helps when it comes to money that you have someone your trust completely so be cautious when doling out financial responsibilities. Since we are entering new territory with our change of business structure this year, we are all working on a learning curve and by this time next year we should be better prepared to deal with the financial end of the business. While we are all a little nervous about how things will play out, we do not let the new situation stop us from moving forward – a blocker for so many entrepreneurial spirits.

While we can sympathize with Ben, like him we understand that gaining control of our project management responsibilities is a big job and one that can’t be taken lightly if you want your business to flourish. You need to take the reins and realize that at some point, no matter how much you want to stay in total control, you will likely have to relinquish some duties to other people if you want to grow. It’s a hard but very important lesson to learn early in the game.

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