If you own a small business or are part of the team, you may or may not have a project management structure. 

Project management may seem like something that only Big companies need. Small businesses are resourceful and small enough that everyone knows what is going on, right?

Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and overseeing a project from start to finish. That could be a client project or an internal project to make processes more efficient or add in a new technology. 

5 ways project management will help your small business

• Stay on budget and schedule: Project management will help you establish a schedule and a budget, and track both as work is done. Without a baseline established and measurements, it is very easy for projects to take longer than expected and cost more. 

• Quality Control: with established processes and plan, this provides checkpoints and repeatable processes to ensure quality work is being done before moving on to the next step. 

• Increase the chance of success: When initiating a project, you will need to establish what success looks like. Having this clarity up front allows you and your team to track metrics & keep aligned throughout. 

• Establish accountability: A clearly defined plan sets up expectations for the team members and establishes accountability & responsibility. 

• Actionable insights: With baselines established and key metrics, it is easy to see the status of a project and quickly take action on any blockers or impediments. 

Why is it more fun to be a project manager in a small business?

• You get to work closely with the owner or founder: This may sound intimidating at first, but the closer you are to the founder or executives, you can get clear on the vision and key key decisions faster 

• You can establish best practices: Often project management processes are not the first thing to be established in small business. You have the autonomy & authority to set up the processes and begin streamlining the business operations, making a big impact on the company's future. 

• You can more easily be agile: With smaller businesses, if you want or need to change a process or update a best practice, it is easier to adjust & change with smaller teams. It still takes clear communication and commitment for changes but the runway for change is shorter. 

Let me know in the comments - Are you in a small business and do you have project management processes?