What is the best project management software, Michele? This is such a common question. When I first started out as an online business manager, I was taken aback by the number of multi-six-figure business owners that were winging it in their business without project management software. 

These owners spent more time reacting to the day-to-day operations, attempting to keep ahead of their tiny teams, and working themselves into tears of exhaustion. Their time was more focused on preventing everything from falling apart than creating freedom and impact.

It's clear they managed the business without a system, reacting daily to whatever arose.

The reason is not because they believe that is the best approach but rather because they either tried to implement one in the past and failed, they had a project management software and didn’t actually use it well or because they tend to avoid anything to do with technology or software. 

Juggling multiple projects and trying to stay organized is tiring, right?

Yes, I know very few business owners will get excited about project management software the way that I do. In today's fast-paced world, project management software has become a must-have tool for busy online business owners. Because here’s the thing, you’re not able to grow your business if you’re stuck in the day-to-day trenches of your business.

But with so many options available, how do you choose the best one for your needs? Don’t worry about it Friend, I’ve got you. Are you ready to make a decision once and for all on what is the best project management software for you and your business?

The decision is ultimately up to you, as it needs to be the one that works for you. Not the one that works for me, not the one that works for your business bestie, but the one that works for you. 

This will serve as a guide to help you understand the key features to look for, comparing the top contenders, and sharing expert tips to make an informed decision. Whether you're a solopreneur, a small business owner with a tiny team, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and insights needed to streamline your projects, improve collaboration, and ultimately boost your productivity. It's time to find the best project management software to take your business to the next level!

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For Those of You Not Sold Yet on Project Management Software

With project management software, you can effectively address the challenges and pain points you face as an online business owner. By implementing software it aids to address the following pain points and problems:

1. Task Organization and Prioritization: The management of multiple tasks and projects can quickly become overwhelming. By using project management software, tasks can be organized, priorities can be set, and resources can be allocated efficiently.

2. Team Collaboration and Communication: Online businesses often involve remote teams or freelancers, so effective communication is essential. In order to ensure seamless team communication, project management tools provide collaboration features like real-time messaging, file sharing, and task comments.

3. Deadline and Time Management: 

For any online business to succeed, meeting deadlines is crucial. It allows owners to set deadlines, track progress, and manage time efficiently, reducing the risk of missing them.

4. Workflow Efficiency: 

Different teams or departments may need to coordinate workflows in an online business. A project management software streamlines workflows, automates repetitive tasks, and provides a clear view of the progress of a project.

5. Resource Allocation: 

Optimizing productivity requires efficient resource allocation. The use of project management tools makes it easier to manage workloads and assign tasks.

6. Task Dependencies: 

Projects with interdependent tasks can be challenging to manage. By defining task dependencies, project management software ensures that tasks are completed in the correct order.

7. Tracking and Reporting: 

Online business owners should monitor the progress of their projects. It's easy to create detailed reports using project management software, which provides valuable insights into the status of a project, the productivity of the team, and any potential bottlenecks.

8. Client Collaboration: 

It can be valuable for businesses that work closely with clients to have a platform for collaboration. Through project management tools, clients can securely access project updates and documents, fostering stronger relationships.

9. Document Management: 

Online businesses deal with a large number of documents, contracts, and files. Most project management software includes document management capabilities, making it easy to store, organize, and access project files.

10. Scalability: 

An online business needs a flexible solution that can scale as it grows. Project management software often offers different pricing tiers and customizable features, accommodating the evolving requirements of a growing business.

11. Centralized Data and Information: 

A centralized platform for all project-related data and information reduces the chance of information being lost or scattered.

12. Task Accountability and Transparency: 

Using project management software, tasks are more accountable since they can be assigned responsibilities and progress can be tracked. Additionally, it increases transparency, facilitating communication between team members.

As a result, online business owners can streamline operations, improve team collaboration, boost productivity, and achieve business objectives more efficiently with the use of project management software. Rather than relying on more manual methods of managing tasks and projects, it provides a structured approach to managing online businesses, alleviating the pain points associated with managing them.

2. Teamwork:

   – Task Management: Plan, track, and manage tasks with ease.

   – Team Collaboration: Foster collaboration and communication among team members.

   – Kanban Boards: Visualize and manage tasks using Kanban boards.

   – Time Tracking: Track time spent on tasks and projects for accurate billing and analysis.

   – File Attachments: Attach files and documents to tasks for easy access.Team has the best file management based on my experience. 

   – Customizable Views: Customize views and workflows to fit specific project needs.

   – Cross-Platform Accessibility: Access Teamwork from multiple devices and platforms.

3. ClickUp:

   – Task Management: Efficiently manage tasks and projects in a centralized space.

   – Team Collaboration: Real-time communication and collaboration for teams.

   – Kanban Boards: Organize and visualize tasks with customizable Kanban boards.

   – Time Tracking: Track time spent on tasks and projects for improved productivity. While they do have this native in the software, I don’t love it. Although, they have been making improvements to the time tracking. 

   – Integrations: Connect with various third-party apps and tools for seamless workflow.

   – Customizable Workflows: Tailor workflows to match specific project requirements.

   – Proofing and Approval (Noted in previous responses): Simplify creative review and approval processes.

4. TickTick:

   – Task Management: Create and organize tasks with due dates and priorities.

   – Team Collaboration: Share lists and tasks with team members for collaboration.

   – Time Tracking: Track time spent on tasks for better time management.

   – Mobile App: Manage tasks and projects on-the-go with a mobile app.

   – Cross-Platform Accessibility: Access TickTick from multiple devices.

   – Note Taking: Take notes and set reminders to stay organized.

   – Integrations: Integrate with other apps and services for enhanced productivity.

5. MeisterTask:

   – Task Management: Plan and execute tasks with intuitive task management.

   – Team Collaboration: Collaborate with team members using built-in communication tools.

   – Kanban Boards: Visualize and organize tasks with customizable boards.

   – Automation: Automate repetitive tasks and workflows for increased efficiency.

   – Integrations: Connect with various third-party apps for seamless data flow.

   – File Attachments: Attach files and documents to tasks for easy reference.

   – Customizable Views: Customize views to match your preferred task display.

6. Monday:

   – Task Management: Organize and manage tasks using intuitive boards and timelines.

   – Team Collaboration: Collaborate in real-time with team members.

   – Kanban Boards: Visualize tasks and workflows with customizable boards.

   – Time Tracking: Track time spent on tasks and projects for accurate reporting.

   – Integrations: Integrate with popular tools and services for enhanced productivity.

   – Automation: Automate routine tasks and streamline workflows.

   – Cross-Platform Accessibility: Access Monday from various devices and platforms.

7. nTask Manager:

   – Task Organization and Prioritization: nTask Manager offers intuitive task lists and boards to help online business owners organize and prioritize tasks efficiently.

   – Time Tracking: The software includes built-in time tracking features, allowing users to monitor the time spent on tasks and projects accurately.

   – Issue and Risk Management: nTask Manager provides tools to identify and manage issues and risks, ensuring potential problems are addressed proactively.

   – Meeting Management: With meeting scheduling, agenda creation, and minute-taking features, the software streamlines meeting processes and enhances productivity.

   – Integrations: nTask Manager integrates with popular productivity tools, extending its functionality and adaptability to the business's existing ecosystem.

8. Wrike:

   – Advanced Task Dependencies: Wrike offers sophisticated task dependency management, enabling businesses to create complex project workflows with ease.

   – Customizable Workflows: The software allows users to create customized workflows tailored to specific project requirements, improving team collaboration and efficiency.

   – Proofing and Approval: Wrike provides visual proofing capabilities, allowing teams to review and approve creative assets directly within the platform, reducing approval cycles.

   – Resource Management: With resource allocation and workload balancing features, Wrike helps optimize resource utilization and team productivity.

   – Enterprise-Grade Security: Wrike ensures data security and compliance with industry standards, making it suitable for online businesses dealing with sensitive information.

9. Notion:

   – Flexible Workspace: Notion offers a versatile workspace where businesses can create custom databases, wikis, knowledge bases, and task boards, all in one platform.

   – Collaboration and Documentation: The software facilitates real-time collaboration, making it ideal for online businesses with teams working across different locations.

   – Media Integration: Notion allows embedding various media types, such as images, videos, and files, making it a dynamic platform for creative and media-centric businesses.

   – Note Taking and Wiki Creation: With its note-taking capabilities and wiki-style layout, Notion promotes knowledge sharing and documentation within the organization.

   – Cross-Platform Accessibility: Notion is available on multiple devices and platforms, ensuring seamless access and synchronization of data for remote teams.

– I love Notion. This is what I use for my content calendar. I’ve not taken the time to drive into the new project and tasks features that have been released. This is also software that you’ve going to master quickly. You’ll need to spend some time watching YouTube videos. It’s incredibly flexible; you have a blank slate that allows you to create whatever your heart desires. 

These highlights provide an overview of the key features offered by each project management software. Keep in mind that the actual feature set may vary based on the specific plan or version of the software. Always refer to the respective software's official website for the most up-to-date and detailed information.

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It’s that time again to wrap this up! 

I hope this was helpful for you in figuring out what is the best project management software. 

The great thing about most of these is that they can try it out for free. Some give you access to all the features for a limited time; others let you use the software as long as you’d like with limited features.

Let me know what questions you have, if you're confused. Book a mini-session, we'll get it figured out! 

Thanks for your time; I appreciate you and hope you have a wonderful week. 

Let me ask have you found yourself in the thick of it all, without one extra minute, wondering what content you can create to get more eyeballs on your website? Next thing you know, you’re going down a rabbit hole researching how to increase traffic for my website. 

Aww, if this is you, Friend, I have one simple tip you can implement into your content calendar to do just that! Are you ready? This one simple tip is to rewrite and republish your old content on your website! Everything needs a refresh now and then, am I right?

You may feel overwhelmed and exhausted by the constant churn of content creation. Not only that but depending on when you’re reading this, it’s the season of no time. Not one extra minute! All the minutes that you previously had for creating amazing content that generates traffic to your website have been swallowed up by keeping your kids entertained while schools are out for summer. You know what I mean, right? I have been there and done that; I get it!

If this is you sweet friend, this too will pass, although from a soon-to-be empty nester, I encourage you to relish every minute. My heart would love to be back in the thick of summer kid entertainment and activities. 

What you need is a quick and simple way to get more eyeballs on your content to drive traffic to your website that can be done in minimal time. How do you do that? As I alluded to earlier, it is by updating, rewriting, and then republishing your old content.  

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Why You Need to Rewrite and Republish Your Old Blog Posts

If you’re on the fence about whether this will work, yes, it does! Numbers tell a story, and I’d like to share with you a recent experience one of my clients had. In the content calendar, I’d peppered in old blog posts to rewrite and republish. 

One thing we do weekly when we meet with the SEO and Conversion Manager is look at the path that visitors take on the website. Kind of like social media, you want them to stay on your website, getting to know about you and your online business. I was curious about the traffic that was coming in from a recent blog post that I rewrote and republished a few weeks ago. Numbers do not lie, and they will tell you where to spend your time. 

First, we looked at the traffic from the date the blog was republished until the current date. It was getting decent traffic, but the wow factor, the visitors, on average, clicked through eight pages on the website. 

I was curious as to the amount of traffic this post was getting prior to the content refresh. We ran the same report going back two years until the day before the post was republished. 

Let Me Say We Were Blown Away

The number of visitors to that blog doubled compared to the previous two years. Do you see how amazing that is? The numbers in two weeks doubled the amount of traffic that they had in two years. Not only that, before the post was rewritten, visitors clicked through to only one page after the post and left the website. 

We were totally geeking out over this information. That’s the proof that it works. This is the perfect solution to how to increase traffic for my website

How Can You Do This

Go back to your old content and make it relevant again. If you’re anything like me, what I did back in the day is not what I’m doing now. 

Enhance those posts to keep them in line with your current services or products. 

A Word Of Caution

Do not change the URL! Only update the content. Changing the URL is an SEO no, no, for sure. 

Make it simple by using the SEO plugin Yoast. They have the feature to rewrite and republish an old blog post. It’s pretty slick and easy to use. It allows you to rewrite and schedule the post to go live instead of having to move it to draft mode to be published on your content's go-live date. 

Am I saying that right? For example, my weekly content goes live on Wednesdays for my blog post and podcast. When is the day that you release new or refreshed content? 

I Don’t Know About You, But I’m Ready To Wrap This Up

One thing we know for sure is that nothing stays the same; you are constantly evolving as a business owner. Rewriting and republishing previously published blog posts is a quick and easy way to get content out the door without the stress of starting from scratch. It is clear from the remarkable results we have seen that this strategy holds great potential.

We were blown away by how refreshing old content has the ability to unlock new opportunities; not only doubled its traffic within two weeks but also experienced an astonishing shift in user engagement and lead generation. Oh my goodness, I think I failed to mention earlier in addition to increased traffic to the website, that engagement created two new leads into the business by filling out an application to work with them. That type of result is mind-blowing. Take advantage of repurposing your content and watch it go farther than you ever imagined. What old content will you make new again?

Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate you, and I hope you have a wonderful week. 

​Hey, friends; welcome to this week’s blog, where we will explore the strategy that allowed me to stop dreading creating content for my business. While I love planning and organization, for some reason, when it came to creating my content, I just could not wrap my brain around it. It felt neverending and a waste of my time. Mostly because it involved a lot of tears after the kids went to bed trying to figure out what the heck to write and post; that would be helpful and that someone would actually want to read! While I’ll save the mindset and believe talk for another day, I first had to figure out a system. I had to have the ah-ha moment that my blog post is the core of all of my marketing. Implementing content systems is the big secret to improve productivity in content creation. 

Lack of a Content Routine and Planning

It’s funny how planning can be one of my favorite things to do, but when it came to content, I had all the resistance and excuses. I’d tell myself that I didn’t have time. I’m busy and still am busy, but now I know what to do and when. I’m only guessing if you’re searching for a solution to inconsistent content creation, you’re beyond frustrated with yourself that you can’t seem to figure this one out. If you only knew the secret to productivity in content creation. 

Please give yourself some grace, Mama; you’re juggling a lot with running your busy family and keeping up with your growing online coaching business. 

Do you find yourself wondering how to make it simple and easy? 

There have been plenty of times in running my tiny team and business that I’ve dropped to my knees and prayed to the LORD; please help me figure this out and let it be simple and easy. 

I did, and it started with a checklist. Nothing fancy, a checklist that I put into Teamwork, the very first project management system that I started with as a virtual assistant. I moved away for Teamwork for one reason; at the time, they didn’t have the ability to move between a list and a board view. Of course, they have that ability now, plus many other views you can toggle between. Teamwork is a really good task management software.  https://www.teamwork.com/

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How I visualize the system structure. 

This is how I look at it or visualize it in my mind the structure of a system. I’m guessing you’re familiar with an organization chart, right? 

The system sits at the top of the organization, kind of like the CEO; the process is like the manager, and the workflow is all the worker bees. 

Does that help to explain it? 

What are Content Systems?

If you struggle with productivity and procrastination as an online business owner, content systems might be your key to success. They are a productivity superpower because when they are set up correctly,  you know exactly what to work on and when in your business.

In simple terms, a content system is a straightforward and efficient approach to managing and creating content for your business. It's all about finding a process that works for you, allowing you to streamline your content creation from start to finish. By implementing a content system, you can bring order to your content strategy, save time, and achieve your business goals without feeling overwhelmed.

If you’re like many of my clients, a content system can be a game-changer for your productivity.

Because it provides you with a clear framework and guidelines to follow, making your content creation journey easier and more manageable. 

With a content system in place, you can plan your content in advance, ensuring consistency and not just throwing something up at the last minute to check it off the list. 

Your content is the first impression of working with you. You want it to either bring people to you or send them away to a different coach. 

With a process, you can efficiently produce and distribute your content, maximizing your limited resources. 

A content system gives you the time to focus on what you do best: connecting and coaching your ideal client. 

Creating valuable content that connects with your audience and drives your business forward must be simple and easy. 

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Don't underestimate the value of the time invested into creating content systems, even for a one-person operation. 

These systems will make it easy for you to bring on a Content VA in the future. Does that sound fun? 

I know from firsthand experience the more you build out beforehand, the less overwhelming it is when you bring on your first virtual assistant. 

I can laugh about it now, I thought my systems were decent when I brought on my first virtual assistant. Let’s just say they were lacking in the workflow piece. This made it stressful for me and her both. She wasn’t sure what to do, and I felt under the gun to keep her busy. No one is productive in that atmosphere. 

When you’re workflows are built out really well, you do not lose track of the little things. 

This week I encourage you to set aside 30 minutes or one Pomodoro and identify your biggest content creation challenges. 

What will the first process and workflow you build out in your content system be? Will it be for your core content like your blog, social media, or email newsletters? 

Final Last Words Before We Wrap This Up

Start simple and expand on your system. Pick one workflow that brings you the most pain and capture your process as you’re doing it with a Chrome plugin like Tango. 

Do not dismiss the power that valuable content has on attracting the right people to your coaching business.  

Allowing you to pour your heart into the value packet content that will gain you a loyal following and grow your coaching business exponentially. A simple and easy content system can propel you toward your business goals, help you stand out in the crowd and best of all improve your productivity in content creation.