Details are important, but even the best of us gets wrapped up in the little stuff sometimes. When that happens, it's easy to lose track of the big picture. If you're in charge of any aspect of business operations, you already know it's crucial to stay focused and organized. With that in mind, here are five excellent business management tools for 2024. You may even find one or two of them is quite familiar already... but are you using them effectively for project management?
Disclosure: This article includes an affiliate link for ConvertKit. Chek Creative will be compensated if you buy, but we only promote products we find damn useful in our own work.
1. Basecamp
Basecamp is a rising star in the world of team project management and planning. It's built to take some of the stress out of organizing tasks and/or running a team. With its totally free version, "nonprofessionals" even just looking to organize personal projects can take advantage of what the platform has to offer without paying business prices for the more robust version. We've been using the paid business management software for our needs at Chek Creative for years, and it's been extremely helpful across the board. Decision makers and team members alike can view boards ("Marketing", "Planning", "Project X"), scroll through the to-do's, and see who's assigned to what tasks. The visually appealing layout keeps everyone apprised and accountable. With Basecamp Business, your employees can upload docs and files, discuss details, and choose who to notify when a task is completed. Basecamp will ensure no one drops the ball on an important project again.
Cool Bonus: Start the day with a team report and reminders of any upcoming deadlines emailed to your inbox. You're free to opt out, but if you're like me and don't have a personal assistant, I suggest thinking of it like that. Just don't expect much in the way of coffee (it's always putting in too much creamer).
2. Zoom
Video conferencing may not be the first thing you think of when you consider business management tools. However, in the age of work from home, effective face-to-face communication channels have become increasingly critical to managers.
Comedian and musician Reggie Watts has a maxim to maintain a healthy perspective on things. "When in doubt, zoom out." While the Comedy Bang! Bang! star probably wasn't referring to the world's favorite video conferencing tool, this communication software puts a not-so-dissimilar emphasis on paying increased attention to others. Zoom lets you get face-to-face with partners, clients, and employees from coast to coast. It's extraordinarily reliable, scheduling is easy, and all parties receive conference reminders.
Cool Bonus: Zoom is a fantastic resource for your remote employees and freelancers to collaborate, touch base, and run through project details with each other. To get additional value-driving resources for remote work, check out this list.
3. Notion
This business software tool is ideally intuitive and a real win for team project management. It also helps keep track of organizational necessities like employee benefits and time off. Notion provides plenty of space and options for collaborating on client reports, documenting internal best practices, growing shared knowledge banks, and more.
Cool Bonus: Customize the way you store and present codebases, guides, wikis, and other project-relevant information.
4. Slack
Slack joins the ranks of Zoom and other "sleeper" business management tools that are becoming increasingly necessary for savvy project managers. It can be used in conjunction with each of the four other tools on this list along with Google Drive, DropBox, and more to keep track of project-based threads and network communications.
Cool Bonus: Teams can upload custom emojis!
5. Email
Have you heard about email? You know about this? Nothing beats the tried and true for partner communications. Despite the fact that you already know what email offers, it deserves its spot on this list. Why? Everyone already has one. There's no learning curve to separate you from the folks you're working with. And besides that... You may know what email is, but are you harnessing its full potential in managing your business?
Cool Bonus: Strong management knows when to delegate and also when to automate. Consider setting up an email drip campaign through ConvertKit. Automate great content to send to new subscribers at intervals so that you can continue to focus the majority of your energy on that big picture.
What Business Management Tools do You Love?
There's a lot you have to keep straight when you're in charge. Staying focused and organized may not always be a walk in the park, but it doesn't have to be a nightmare either. Which business management tools keep you and your team on the same page?
Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
