Best Project Management Tool for Creative Entrepreneurs in 2024

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Creative entrepreneurs need more than just a basic project management tool—they need a solution that flows with their ideas, adapts to dynamic projects, and supports creative collaboration! Whether you’re a freelancer, an agency, or a small creative team, choosing the right project management tool can make all the difference in your productivity and growth. In this guide, we’ll explore the top project management tools for creatives. From intuitive interfaces to powerful collaboration features, we’ve got you covered with the best options to fit your unique workflow.

Why Creatives Need Project Management Tools  

Project management tools can serve many functions in your creative business that go well beyond just managing projects. Even if you don’t have any projects in your business (which I doubt is true for very many), implementing a simple tool can do wonders for productivity and staying on track with your active initiatives and goals. 

Save time and enhance productivity

Many creative entrepreneurs run their businesses solo or with a small team, meaning that every ounce of efficiency matters. Using project management software drives efficiency in many ways. 

• Automate tedious processes like scheduling a meeting when a certain milestone is hit or executing onboarding tasks when a new client joins

• Seamlessly collaborate with team members, third parties, and clients

• Integrate operational processes with project work, ensuring work flows without friction

  
  

Goal tracking

If you’re not using a project management tool to track your business goals, you’re seriously missing out. One of my favorite quotes is, “A goal without a plan is just a wish,” by writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Have you ever tried to hit a goal without a plan? I’m sure everyone has at least once—maybe you’ve had success and maybe not, but the key here is that you’re a lot more likely to achieve a goal with a documented plan you can use to keep yourself accountable and track progress. Using a project management tool is a fantastic way to do that.

Project management

This one might seem obvious, but I call it out because almost all creatives have projects in their business, whether it’s a marketing campaign, new product development, service delivery, or anything that is “a temporary undertaking that aims to create a unique product, service, or result” (PMI.org). Anything in your creative business that falls into this category would benefit from a project plan and a project management tool.

Process documentation and automation

I love using a project management tool as a central hub for my business. Using the numerous automations and integrations in Monday.com I’m able to have a lot of my administrative tasks happening on autopilot and alerting me when I need to take action.

Three Project Management Tools for Creative Entrepreneurs

There are a ton of options when it comes to project management software these days and I’ve explored a lot of them. Every tool has shortcomings, whether in available integrations, ease of use, or price. No tool is 100% perfect. I base my ultimate recommendation on ease of use because I assume that as a creative entrepreneur, you’re probably not a project manager (even though some of you might be - I am!). So, the tool you choose must be easy to set up and start using without a huge learning curve. This is why I always recommend Monday.com first, but there other great tools are depending on your needs. Here is my review of some of the more popular project management tools for creatives.

Asana

I’ve spent the last year testing Asana for my other blog business, and I wanted to love it as a project management tool for project tracking and content planning. There are things that I really liked: the aesthetics (probably the most "fun" tool I've tried), the functionality, and the built-in reporting. But I think it’s better suited for larger teams; it just felt like overkill for my small business, so I'm migrating everything over to Monday.com. I'm still keeping it in my back pocket to recommend for larger clients, potentially, but for creative entrepreneurs, I think it's more than you'll need. Check out the feature comparison table below for more details.

Trello 

Trello is the simplest tool on the list, but it does have its shortcomings. If you’re looking for a super simple tool to track a few tasks or a one-off project, this could be a great option. It’s best for simple tasks and project management.

Trello is Kanban board-centric (not started > in progress > complete), which is great for keeping individuals and teams focused and preventing too many tasks from being in progress at once. The interface is very intuitive and easy to set up, and it has limited overall functionality, which is what makes it great for really simple tracking and beginners.

Trello wouldn’t be good for individuals or teams that are looking for templated project plans, robust automation, or plans to scale. Its limited collaboration functionality, reporting, and minimal automation might make it challenging to keep the tool as your business grows or becomes more complex.

Monday.com

I’ve used Monday.com on and off since 2017 and it’s the productivity tool that I return to again and again. I consistently find it to be the sweet spot between being an approachable, simple tool with all the functionality I need to collaborate with external partners and scalability as my businesses grow.

Two things I absolutely love about Monday.com are the robust template and automation libraries (including automation for integrations with other tools). Even though I love process maps and setting up workflows for other people, it’s not something I like to spend time on in my business because I have so many other things to do, so being able to leverage these libraries to give me a huge jumpstart on pretty much anything I need to set up. This also makes it a great tool for beginners.

The one “con” I will call out is integrations have the potential to add a decent amount of expense to the monthly subscription. So far, I haven’t found a need to buy any additional integrations for my simple businesses, but that’s something I am keeping an eye on.

Here's a table comparing some of the main functions of the three project management software apps.

Essential Features to Look For in a Project Management Tool for Creatives  

We talked about this a lot in our recent blog about what to look for in a project management tool. Creative projects, especially those run by small teams (or a team of one!), have unique requirements.

Key features that benefit creative workflows

• Customizable workflows and templates  

• Collaboration tools: commenting, file sharing, team chat

• Visual project boards and task prioritization

• Integration with design tools and cloud storage

Choosing the Right Project Management Tool for Your Business

It can feel super overwhelming to choose a tool, and while I do advise you do some research before moving forward, the best way to really see if a tool is a good fit is to try it out. Choose a single project to test to help suss out the best fit.

Factors to consider for creative project management software

Budget 

Be mindful of per-seat pricing and additional costs associated with integrations, which can drive up cost.

Team size

 If your projects require a lot of collaboration and task handoffs, you’ll want a project management tool that allows work to flow smoothly between team members, ideally with some automation to trigger assignments, new tasks, and notifications to reduce necessary project administration.

Project type

A simple project involving one person and a list of tasks might be great with Trello, whereas a more complex marketing or strategic initiative might be a better fit for Monday.com or Asana. Also, ensure the available views support your project type, Agile or Waterfall. Waterfall projects do well with Gantt charts or table views, while an Agile project may be better suited for Kanban.

Trial periods and free versions to test compatibility

Leverage trial periods to see if the program is a good fit. Don’t be afraid to spend a few weeks in a few so you can really get a feel for each tool.

Importance of ease of use and learning curve

As we discussed, if you hop into a tool and instantly feel overwhelmed, it might be a sign that it’s more than you need.

Choosing the best project management tool for your creative business isn’t just about ticking off features—it’s about finding a solution that aligns with your work style and fuels your creativity. With the right tool, you can streamline your workflow, improve communication, and bring your projects to life faster and more efficiently. Try a few options, see what fits your team’s rhythm, and let your creativity shine!

What's your favorite project management tool for your creative business? Let me know in the comments!