Project Management for Artpreneurs: Essential Techniques and Tools for Success
As a solopreneur, you're either always juggling multiple projects and clients, or perhaps you run in cycles where you have quiet and busy periods. Either way, effective project management is always key to keeping your business organized, focused, and on track. But what exactly is project management and how can you get started? In this article, we'll explore the basics of project management for artpreneurs and provide some tips and tools to help you stay organized and successful.
What is Project Management and Why is it Important for Solopreneurs?
Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and executing a project from start to finish. It's a critical aspect of running a business, especially for solopreneurs who handle multiple projects and clients at once. By using project management techniques, you can prioritize tasks, delegate responsibilities, and manage resources effectively, which ultimately leads to increased efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Project Management is a discipline in itself with courses, departments and businesses dedicated to it. In this article though, I’m only going to focus on a few aspects that I believe are appropriate to solopreneurs.
Who Manages the Project Management for Solopreneurs?
For solopreneurs, the responsibility of project management falls on their shoulders (as every other business function!). However, if you have an assistant or partner in the business, they could be in charge of project management as well. The key is to find the solution that works best for your unique business and situation. I would also note for those of you working solo, if you implement a project management flow now, when you onboard someone to manage the business side of your art business in the future, it’ll be a more seamless process.
Project Management Methods for Solopreneurs
There are many project management methods to choose from. Some of them can be very technical and are more relevant to large scale projects in other industries. I have highlighted two methods below from the traditional project management sphere that you can easily apply to your art business.
Gantt Chart: A graphical representation of a project timeline that shows the start and end dates of each task and the dependencies between tasks. This is a great way to to map out your project and give you more awareness of where there might be delays, what the dependencies are, giving you a better ability to stay balanced within your work and life in general. You can use Gantt charts to map out an individual or multiple projects.
Kanban Board: A visual way to manage tasks and projects by moving them through stages of completion, such as "to do," "in progress," and "done." The beauty of Kanban boards is you can do it physically or digitally. You can use a white board or sticky notes on a wall to create a physical version. Or you can use the likes of Miro or Trello to create a digital version, which can be useful if you’re working on the road.
Project Management Tools for Solopreneurs
With so many project management tools available, it can be tough to choose the right one for your business. These are the tools I would recommend to artpreneurs:
Asana - A collaboration and project management tool that helps people manage projects and tasks. You can use lists and Gantt charts in Asana, along with a host of other templates.
ClickUp - A comprehensive project management solution that offers a variety of features, including task management, time tracking, and Gannt charts. It can look like a lot but once you focus on the feature you need, its easier to use.
Notion - A flexible and customizable workspace that allows you to manage projects, create checklists, and store information. Best used for lists and dashboards of information that you can create yourself.
Trello - Trello is a flexible and user-friendly project management tool that allows you to organize and prioritize your work. It is often used for Kanban boards.
Miro - A digital whiteboard that comes with 100s of templates, including Kanban boards and project timelines. Also great to help with the brainstorming phase of a project.
So there you go! I hope this helps contribute to your workflow as an artpreneur. By using project management methods and tools, you can feel confident taking on projects and not be afraid that you’ll run into delays or experience too much stress.
If you would like an Advisory Session, whether it would be to learn about using the methods or tools above, or have an independent voice in the planning of your upcoming project(s), click below to get in contact with me!
