Running a business when you have kids who need you, and the million other demands that moms have going on is a real art. The juggle requires significant planning and ways to keep track so you don’t let things fall through the cracks. Between managing your business and taking care of your family, staying organized can feel like a Herculean task. I’ve been there, AND I’ve supported thousands of the women in my community in creating plans and routines that help them to keep up with the demands without losing their head.  

Early on in my business, I taught moms how to run their businesses and lives using the project management tool, Trello. While much of the ideas of project management remains the same, we switched to ClickUp 5 years ago and haven’t looked back since. 

This tool has revolutionized the way I run my business, and I’m excited to share how you can harness its power, whether you’re just starting out or looking to streamline your current processes.

What is ClickUp?

ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity platform designed to keep your work organized, efficient, and on track. It offers a ton of features, from task management and project planning to team collaboration and integrations with other tools you already use. They’re always improving the experience, and I love playing around with new features to rethink how we do things in our business, but more than anything, the tried and true functions are what keep the BossMom business running smoothly. Why ClickUp? For me, it outshined other tools with its flexibility and comprehensive suite of features, making it perfect for both solo entrepreneurs and growing teams.

Getting Started with ClickUp

Setting Up an Account: The first step is simple—sign up for ClickUp and set up your workspace. Follow the intuitive prompts to create your account and start customizing your space.

Initial Setup: Begin by setting up your workspaces. Think of these as your overarching categories for different areas of your business, like client work, content creation, and admin tasks.

Customization: ClickUp’s true power lies in its customization. Tailor your workspace to fit your specific needs with custom statuses, fields, and views.

Organizing Your Business with ClickUp

Creating Workspaces: Structure your workspaces to reflect different facets of your business. I have separate workspaces for ongoing tasks, content creation, and internal projects. This clear division helps me stay focused and organized.

Using Spaces and Folders: Within each workspace, I use spaces and folders to organize projects and tasks. For instance, in my content creation workspace, I have folders for YouTube, Social Media, and Blog Content.

Templates: Save time with ClickUp’s templates. Whether you’re setting up a new project or onboarding a team member, templates ensure consistency and efficiency. You can also create your own templates which is awesome if you’re like me, and you like to create things to work with the way your unique brain works. 

Ways I Run My Business with ClickUp

Ongoing (Individual): Managing day-to-day tasks is a breeze with ClickUp. I have boards for myself and each team member’s ongoing tasks to include recurring tasks—daily, weekly, and monthly—as well as one-off tasks that pop up. This gives everyone their own space to manage their day-to-day to-dos and know their priorities.

Ongoing (Team Projects): For collaborative projects, like content creation for YouTube or social media, we use dedicated boards. Each team member has their role, and we can track progress collectively. This ensures everyone is aligned and working towards the same goal.

Project Boards: When we have projects with a start and end date, we create project boards. These boards map out workflows and calendars, ensuring everyone knows their responsibilities and deadlines. This method keeps our projects on track and moving forward smoothly.

Planning Board: Strategic planning is crucial. Our planning board is where we map out the big picture—annual marketing plans, revenue goals, audience growth targets, upcoming program launches, and summit participation. This helps us identify overlaps and stay aware of all ongoing and upcoming initiatives.

System Board: The system board is our hub for customer service tickets and content submissions from our BossMom+ Economy members. Using ClickUp forms, submissions automatically create tasks in this board, and the relevant team member can address them promptly. This system ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

Admin Space: This space is a repository for all our business assets—branding elements, headshots, bios, affiliate links, company logins, and more. It’s a central location that all team members can access easily, making it a breeze to find and share information as needed.

Task Management and Productivity

Task Creation: Creating and managing tasks in ClickUp is straightforward. Use detailed descriptions, attachments, and subtasks or checklists to break down complex tasks.

Due Dates and Prioritization: Setting due dates and prioritizing tasks helps keep everything on track. ClickUp’s reminders and notifications ensure nothing is forgotten.

Views: Utilize ClickUp’s diverse views—List, Board, Calendar, and Gantt—to manage your tasks effectively. Each view offers a different perspective, helping you stay on top of your workload.

Recurring Tasks: Automate routine work with recurring tasks. You can set tasks to recur daily, weekly, or on a specific day or date of the month. The customization helps you plan in the exact way that you need for your business. This feature saves time and ensures that essential tasks are never overlooked.

Collaboration and Communication

Team Collaboration: ClickUp makes team collaboration seamless. Assign tasks, set permissions, and track progress all in one place.

Task Assignments: Clearly assign tasks to team members, so everyone knows their responsibilities. This clarity boosts productivity and accountability.

Comments and Mentions: Use comments and mentions within tasks to communicate efficiently. This keeps all discussions and updates in context, making it easy to follow the conversation.

Integrations and Automation

Integrations: ClickUp integrates with your favorite tools like Google Calendar, Slack, and Zoom. These integrations streamline your workflow and keep everything connected.Using the ClickUp Chrome extension, you can create tasks from many places on the internet where you realize you need to come back to something. Got an email that has a to-do? Create a task with the extension and attach the email to the task, straight from Gmail. 

Automations: Set up automations to handle repetitive tasks. Whether it’s moving tasks between lists or updating statuses, automations save time and reduce manual effort.

ClickUp has been a game-changer for my business, providing the structure and organization needed to juggle entrepreneurial and family responsibilities. Its flexibility and comprehensive features make it the perfect tool for mom entrepreneurs and coaches. Give ClickUp a try, and see how it can transform your business too.