Something all small businesses have in common is their desire for growth and the drive to achieve their dreams. But, the pathway to success isn’t always clear. In this article, we’ll explore how adopting a project-based approach to growth can maximize project value and rapidly deliver benefits to your business.

1. Focusing

When growth begins, it’s common for small business owners to get caught up in daily tasks or to eagerly launch too many projects at once. But, neither of these approaches foster sustainable growth.

Growing a business sustainably is like climbing a staircase – you have to move forward one intentional step at a time. Start by making a list of the different project options available to you. Then, carefully examine each project for three things:

• How important is this project to my business?
• How feasible is this project?
• If I don’t do this project, what are the consequences?

At the top of your list, place the projects that are most feasible, important, and have the greatest consequences if they’re not done. This way, you’ll have a clear path to proceed.

2. Understanding

For a project to be meaningful, you must understand how it will deliver value to your organization. So, begin by setting a business objective with which to align the project. Writing an objective can sometimes take several iterations, so try starting with statements like:

• We’re undertaking this project to achieve objective x and avoid risk y.
• We’re undertaking this project to deliver a value of x because this positions our organization for z.
• We’re undertaking this project because if we don’t, then x consequence will happen.
• We’re undertaking this project to improve this part of our organization so that we can then undertake z.

Establishing good business objectives to guide your projects will help you determine how to measure success. Consider which results can be measured to determine whether you’ve achieved your objectives. Projects are most powerful when your team understands their value and the impact of their success or failure. These projects are more likely to have a motivated team behind them, with a stronger commitment toward project success.

3. Planning

It’s easy to get excited about a project and its objective, especially when you’re executing it yourself, or with a small team. This makes it immensely tempting to get started as soon as possible.

Although creating a plan might seem like a time-waster, neglecting this step is a key mistake. The reality is, a well-structured plan provides essential data for evaluating project performance later on. In a young organization with limited project experience, this data is critical to help you continuously improve project delivery. And, when projects are linked to value, you also enhance your ability to realize value.

Plans are also essential for evaluating whether a project is on track and identifying risks that could affect its delivery and success.

Key Things to Include in a Project Plan

• Budget – Know what kind of investment your business can commit to a project and compare this to the expected returns. Consider how long it will take to recover the investment, as this might influence your timeline for realizing the project.
• Timeline – Identify key milestones needed to realize your project and set goals for when they’ll be achieved. Analyze market conditions and other business needs that will dictate when the project can succeed. Examine whether the milestone schedule aligns with long-term business needs and refine the timeline using these insights.
• Risk analysis – Discuss the following questions with your project team and revisit them as the project progresses:
  • What could go wrong?
  • How likely are these issues to occur?
  • What are their potential impacts?
  • What steps can we take to mitigate these risks?
  • Should any of these steps be implemented immediately?
• Communication – Ask yourself these questions to ensure effective communication throughout the project:
  • Who needs to know about this project?
  • What information is important to them?
  • How frequently do they need updates?
  • What’s the most effective way to deliver this information?
  • How can we best support these communication needs?
• Scope – Determine the minimum task list required to achieve the business objective. Scope can be documented in several ways, often starting with a scope statement – a brief paragraph describing the project’s intended outcomes. This should be followed by a list of what is not included in the scope. Scope can also be defined using:
  • Backlog – A prioritized list of all the tasks needed to complete the project.
  • Work breakdown structure – A sequential matrix of tasks arranged in order of completion.

4. Execution

Consider the kinds of expertise needed for the project to be successful and who can provide it. Then, aim to create as diverse a team as possible. Diversity – when coupled with proper support and an environment that fosters open debate and discussion – will produce high-performance teams.

Will the project resources be dedicated to this project, or do they have other duties? If they have other duties, be sure your timeline includes contingencies, such as:

• How often will the project team need to meet?
• Will you use technology to help you manage the work being done?
• How will you know work is getting done?
• Who will be accountable for the project?

5. Learning

Projects that deliver value also offer valuable learning opportunities. So, be sure to conduct a project retrospective or post-mortem with a diverse group of team members and stakeholders. Assess what went well, identify areas for improvement, recognize team achievements, and review project metrics. 

Summarize your findings in a report and keep it easily accessible for future reference. This step is crucial to maximize the value your organization gains from projects. By continuously improving based on lessons learned, you can accelerate the return on investment for future projects.

Small Business BC is Here to Help

SBBC is a non-profit resource centre for BC-based small businesses. Whatever your idea of success is, we’re here to provide holistic support and resources at every step of the journey. Check out our range of business webinars, on-demand E-Learning Education, our Talk to an Expert Advisories, or browse our business articles.