The Best 9 Tools for Project Management for Solopreneurs
Are you wondering what your options are for project management for solopreneurs? A good project management tool can make or break your business; whether you’re just starting an online business or an experienced solopreneur, a good project management tool can make or break your small business.
Online and small business owners face many challenges, and if you’re a solopreneur, you wear many hats like:
- Tech support
- Marketing director
- Social media manager
- Content Creator
- Video Editor
- Graphic designer
- Project manager
- Head of Research
- Task management
And so much more. But the right project management software can do a lot of the heavy lifting, automate repetitive tasks, and help you manage all the projects you’re working on in your business. They can help you create workflows, systems, and processes to streamline all your business activities.
So, here are some great project management tools that can help you take your business to the next level.
After reading this post, you’ll know:
- Why every solopreneur needs a good project management tool
- The top 10 apps and tools perfect for solopreneurs
- What exactly a project management tool is
The best features to look for that can increase productivity, help you meet deadlines, and set you up for long-term success.
What is Project Management Software?
Project management software and tools are used for project planning, scheduling, resource management, and more.
And whether you’re a bigger business or a solopreneur, the right tool can help with task management, internal and external communication, collaboration, and more. Plus, it keeps all your digital assets and files all in one place.
For solopreneurs, it’s more about managing all aspects of your business so that you can find everything you need for each project quickly and see detailed and bird’s eye views of everything you’re working on.
Why Every Solopreneur Needs a Good Project Management Tool
As a solopreneur, there are about a gazillion moving parts in your business, and you need to keep your eye on them all. But trust me, even the most organized and productive person can drop the ball occasionally.
It’s important to track all the moving parts, map out the steps to achieve goals, manage important tasks and due dates, and more.
And at some point, you will likely want to collaborate with others, whether that’s a VA you hire or another entrepreneur you want to team up with. A good project management tool provides a platform to collaborate with others.
I participate in a lot of bundles, giveaways, and summits for bloggers and online business owners, and without Google Drive, Trello, and ClickUp, I would be lost.
Plus, Google Drive is the perfect tool for me to collaborate with people on. I learned how to create a complete business system on the platform, which allows me to share things with people that work with me, like contractors or my affiliates.
Getting more organized and systemizing my business has given me tons of time back each month and has helped me grow my business faster in the past two years than it did the first four years.
And these are the tools I use to manage the many processes, systems, ad workflows within my extensive business system.
Related: How to Earn a Full-Time Income Freelance Blogging the Easy Way
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The Best Project Management Tools for Solopreneurs
1. ClickUp
ClickUp is one of the most powerful task management tools out there. I use it to track and manage every task in my business, from client work to course creation to email marketing.
ClickUp integrates with many tools (including Zapier for those it doesn’t directly integrate with), and there are many automations you can use. This is where the power of workflows and processes helps you level up as the automations do the heavy lifting.
One good example is status changes. You can set ClickUp to do certain things when the status of a task changes. For instance, you can assign yourself to a specific task and receive an email when the status changes, like if your VA completes a task.
I also manage tasks associated with my freelance writing clients in ClickUp and link to the documents I create in Google Drive.
It helps me stay on top of due dates, which is very helpful when you have a busy brain and tend to forget things. I can schedule things and make sure I stay on top of any deadlines, which is even more critical when it comes to client work.
I also have the ClickUp project management app on my phone and tablet, which allows me to get notifications when things are overdue.
And I love that you can create dashboards that provide a bird’s eye view of everything going on. I have one of mine set up to show me everything due today, tomorrow, this week, and overdue tasks. The image above shows that dashboard.
I highly recommend ClickUp if you’re a solopreneur because you can customize it to your business, and it has so many great features. And you can add links, attachments, images, and everything you need to run your business.
Also, the free version is very robust. I haven’t upgraded to a paid plan, but there are several inexpensive options if you want to.
Pros
- Great for managing tasks and projects
- Integrates with many popular apps
- Allows for helpful automations
- Allows for custom dashboards and views
- Has a free forever plan
Cons
- Creating custom dashboards is a little tricky
- It may be overwhelming because of the functionality
2. Trello
One of my other favorite tools that I use every day is Trello. In my opinion, it’s the best project management tool for solopreneurs because it allows you to manage complex projects like product and course launches and even course launches with many moving parts.
I tried Trello several years ago, and I just wasn’t into it because it wasn’t very good for task management. You can do it, but it’s better for managing complex projects and setting up repositories like a business hub of resources and files or a board with content ideas.
It’s also a great place to make workflows because you can move items from one stage to the next as you finish tasks. For instance, this tool is great for a blog post workflow or other creative projects with different stages.
You can also use different views, like the calendar view, which is perfect for things like content plans and editorial calendars. Honestly, Trello is great for many of my content creation needs.
You’ll find people selling all kinds of Trello board templates, and you can even find free ones online. But my favorite place to find good templates is my friend Lucy’s Level Up Your Biz with Trello course.
I love her templates because, honestly, I’m not really good with things like this, and her boards provide templates you can customize to your needs.
Like ClickUp, you can add attachments, links, and images, create checklists, connect with your Google account, and more. This project management tool can help you stay organized and eliminate time wasted looking for the things you need to complete tasks.
Plus, you can add more functionality to your boards by adding power-ups like Google Drive, the calendar view, Gantt chart, Slack, card snooze, Buffer, time tracking, and so many more. Power-ups can help you collaborate better and create a business system that works for you.
You can also use automations to automate redundant tasks like moving cards, adding labels, things associated with dates, and more.
And if you want to kick your business up a notch, learn more about Level Up Your Biz With Trello here and sign up for the waitlist.
Pro Tip – If you’ve used Trello before, you may be bummed that each workspace can only hold ten boards on the free plan. But you can make as many workspaces as you want, so you can likely use this project management tool for free forever unless you want to create templates or use more powerups.
Pros
- Can help you manage complex projects
- It is easy to use (ease of use is important)
- The power-ups and automations help streamline your workflows and increase productivity.
- You can use it for free forever.
- Integrates with many tools
Cons
- You only get a couple of power-ups per board on the free plan.
- You may not be used to the kanban board setup
Learn more how you can use Trello to organize your life here.
3. Asana
Asana is another robust task management tool, but it’s also one of the best project management tools if you know how to use it right. I worked for Miranda Nahmias, who I like to call the Systems Queen.
I worked for her briefly as a writing project manager, and she used Asana to set up workflows and systems for her 15 to 20-person team.
She offers services like social media management and blog post creation and even set up little dashboards for each client in Asana, so the whole team had access to everything they needed, no matter what they were.
And the way she used Asana for workflows blew my mind! As each person completed their part of a workflow, they assigned it to the next one, and it was a fantastic process.
I feel like Asana is one of the best project managers for teams, but you can definitely use it as Miranda did for project management, as it has some great features and ways to customize things for your needs. It also does great with managing customer service tasks too.
But Asana does take some getting used to. However, once you create a system that works, it can definitely increase your productivity.
Asana is one of the best tools to track any task list, and you can likely use its free plan forever too. Miranda had multiple contractors working for her and never needed to upgrade to a paid plan.
Pros
- Asana is great for managing tasks.
- You can use it for free forever.
- You can use it to create processes and work glows.
- It’s a great tool if you plan on outsourcing with a virtual team eventually.
Cons
- It works better for large or small teams than solopreneurs.
- It takes some getting used to.
4. Evernote
Evernote used to be my go-to project management tool because it works with my brain and is like an old-school filing cabinet. The notebooks are like file folders, and the notes are like the documents you file.
It’s a great repository for ideas and saving images. You can make main notebooks for your business and then nest other notebooks under them for the different parts of your business or the projects you’re working on. You can see that in the image above.
The thing with Evernote is it can take some getting used to, but once you do, you can find anything you need in under 10 seconds. For real, no joke. I tested it at an emergency vet appointment when I needed my cat’s vet records.
I use IFTTT to save social media posts to a folder which saves me so much time from doing it manually.
Plus, it also has apps for your phone and tablet and saves everything on the cloud so you can manage your projects no matter where you are.
The one drawback is that they no longer have a free plan, and their lowest price one starts at $8.99, which isn’t bad.
Pros
- Makes a great repository for information
- Great for organizing digital assets and files.
- You can create checklists and outlines.
- You can set deadlines.
Cons
- There is no free plan anymore.
- It doesn’t work well with everyone’s brain.
5. AirTable
AirTable is another popular project management platform online that allows you to manage complex projects and hold a lot of data. One of my favorite features is that you can create a custom, user-friendly interface for any of your needs. Customizability is one of the top things people love about this online project management software.
With numerous integrations, it likely connects with the most essential tools you already work in, allowing you to sync data to have the most up-to-date info at your fingertips.
It makes a great blog management system. I purchased Leanne Scott’s Blog Boss Management AirTable System, a comprehensive system that allows you to manage your business all in one space. It is amazing and includes templates for:
- Blogging goals
- Blog posts tracker
- Keeping track of the online courses that you sign up for
- A project planner
- A year plan
- Affiliate product planner
- Affiliate article tracker
- Blog post ideas
- Email newsletter planning
- Lead magnet ideas
- Funnel planner
And much more. If you have a blog and love AirTable, the Blog Boss Management System is perfect for you, but I digress.
You can use Airtable for so many things like marketing workflows and planning, a place to store client information, kind of like a customer CRM, a place to store digital resources, and more. The options are endless.
It has a variety of views, including:
- Gallery
- Grid
- Kanban
- Timeline
- Gantt
- Form
And more. Plus, with many templates available, you can get started quickly, begin tracking all your data and keep track of those important files.
Pros
- Very flexible with and customizable
- Integrates with many apps and tools
- You can create a business hub and manage everything all in one place.
- It has powerful automations for maximum efficiency.
- You can create custom dashboards and multiple views.
Cons
- Can be challenging to get used to and overwhelming
- You can use it for free, but you are limited to the number of templates or boards you can have.
6. Notion
Notion is a new project management tool on the block, but this one seems to be suitable for neurodivergent people.
In case you haven’t heard that term before (neither had I before this year), neurodivergent describes someone whose brain works or develops differently. It may be from a medical condition or something else, but they face certain challenges and likely have different strengths too.
I hear a lot of my neurodivergent friends love Notion, and I want to, but it’s just not the project management tool for me. But it could be for you!
I do love that it’s essentially a blank slate, but I also feel like that is my issue with it because I’m not great at creating templates.
Notion is great for teams and solopreneurs and the perfect place to set up your own knowledge base or wiki for your teams. It has drag-and-drop editing and a mobile app and integrates with some of your favorite tools like Slack, IFTTT, Zapier, etc.
They also have a free plan, and in fact, many users stay on the free one, although I am not sure of the limitations.
Pros
- Flexible and allows you to create customizable templates
- You can create checklists, outlines, and more.
- Great for people with busy brains and a lot of creativity
- Allows for multiple views
Cons
- It takes some getting used to.
- Has a free personal use plan, but you won’t be able to add team members down the road
7. Google Drive
I love this project management platform for so many reasons. First, it’s a great collaboration tool, and it can be your base of operations for your whole business.
I broke it into five main folders, well, six if I count my personal folder:
- Clients
- Business
- Team
- Archives
- Learning
My drive folders allow me to keep everything in one place, but I like to use my thumb drive for backup for social media graphics, stock photos, course files and images, freebies, etc.
One of the main reasons I started using my drive more was my computer had to be sent off not once but twice one year. I wasn’t prepared the first time, but I thought I had everything I needed on the cloud the second time. But it turns out the ONE document I needed for my taxes (my financial spreadsheet) was still on that dang computer.
One thing it can’t do, though, is manage all your tasks. Your drive is like a whole little business ecosystem on its own. So, no matter what project management apps you choose to use, let Google Drive be done.
Most people know that Google Drive is free, but you actually can run out of space and need to upgrade. It took a long time for that to happen to me. Just keep that in mind.
Pros
- It is great for collaborating with others, like affiliates, even if you’re a solopreneur.
- You can use it for free, likely forever or at least a long time.
- It’s the perfect place to store large quantities of data and create an organized business hub.
Cons
- Not great for managing deadlines and some specific tasks
- You’ll likely need more than one project management tool if you choose this one too.
8. Basecamp
Basecamp is another popular project management software option that I actually used with my first freelance writing clients. They owned multiple publications and had at least 15 contractors working for them, so it is more set up for teams.
They had their whole base of operations set up in there, from SOPs and procedures to workflows to their content strategy, you name it.
One positive aspect of Basecamp is that they’ve been around for almost two decades, so the creators refined its tools and key features. It’s a simple project management and business management tool that’s simple yet comprehensive.
Basecamp caters to all types of large and small businesses, from IT consultants to freelancers to first responders. The nice thing is that it is relatively inexpensive at only $11 per user.
The pricing isn’t on different plan levels with specific features for each level; every account gets access to all their features.
Like most other tools on this list, this isn’t the best option if you’re looking for a customer CRM.
Pros
- A good tool for people that have multiple projects with a lot of moving parts
- Desktop version and app
- Inexpensive pricing plan that gives everyone access to all features
- You get a lot of storage space and unlimited projects.
Cons
- Not the best tool for solopreneurs
- There’s a steep learning curve.
9. Teamwork
Teamwork is another great project management option for managing workflows, tasks, and deadlines. One of my long-term clients uses it, and it’s perfect for managing a virtual team located all around the United States.
The founder also kind of uses it as a CRM as he had many security company clients that required all of us to have access to data to do our jobs. It’s similar to Basecamp in that it works well for teams, but you can really create a knowledge base and organize all your digital files and assets.
Its superpower is making it easy to keep up with hundreds of activities between multiple clients and team members, so it’s probably too complex for a solopreneur, but I wanted to provide you with a variety of options.
They have a free plan and other options for more than five users. It includes features like time tracking, creating reports, creation automations, adding miles stones, chat, and more.
Pros
- Another good tool for people that have multiple projects with a lot of moving parts
- It has great planning and collaboration features
- Integrates with many tools and apps
- It’s excellent for managing resources and resource allocation,
Cons
- Not the best tool for solopreneurs
- Not the easiest to use
Final Thoughts on Project Management for Solopreneurs
Now you have plenty of great project management software and tool options to manage everything in one space. You may need to try one or more tools until you find the one you like, as that’s why I tried many of the tools on this list.
As you can see, I use more than one option to get everything done in my business because I use them for different things.
The right project management tool will make your life easier and help you get through that neverending to-do list that keeps piling up. Once I found the right tools and combined them with smart strategies, I got a lot of time back in my week. You can too!
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