Month: October 2009

Linky

6 Reasons To Be A Project Management Consultant

6 Reasons To Be a Project Management Consultant

to Business Owners and Service Professionals

Following on from my previous blog post on ‘About Project Management Passion’, I wanted to explain Virtual Project Consulting’s 6 reasons for being Project Management Consultants to Business Owners and Service Professionals.

1. Core Desire To Help

As a Project Management Professional it is my core desire to help, equip and empower people to reach their full potential. I realized one way of doing this is to combine my calling to help more people with the sharing of my knowledge and experience in Project Management as a business tool. If life is about learning, earning and returning, you could say that my Project Management Consulting business is about returning my project management knowledge, skills and experience of the past 11 years to help other people grow.

In choosing a name for my Project Management Consulting Business, I decided on a name that will also work for doing business online with clients over the internet.  Hence the choice of VIRTUAL PROJECT CONSULTING.

What does VIRTUAL mean to me?  Virtual has several meanings as portrayed in the following graphic:

2. Our Vision

As part of our vision to be the Service Provider of choice for Project Management Consulting and related Products on how to manage successful projects in your business, the VIRTUAL component means that you can expect practical, effective and fundamental advice from us. We are the Virtual Project Manager in your business, without actually being there.

3. Support Our Mission

I believe in consistently delivering Professional Project Management Consulting Services:

  • That adds value
  • That meets the needs of clients
  • That provides inspirational leadership
  • That empowers people by equipping them with skills and knowledge required to be successful in business.
  • That is based on ethical business principles

4. Create A Community

Through interaction with different business owners and service professionals I want to use Virtual Project Consulting as the company vehicle to build a community of people who are passionate about what they do, to connect, to learn, to grow and to give back. Share success stories and learn from one another’s horror stories of what can go wrong in business. Aspiring project managers can read more Project Management related articles here.

5. Fill A Need

Many business owners and service professionals are entrepreneurs with no or very little project management training or experience.  Any-one starting out on their own or being a small to medium business, cannot afford to employ a project manager full time for the occasional projects required to be finished from time to time. This is where Virtual Project Consulting will fulfill the need of providing a basic project management methodology and process, guidelines and tools, as well as ready-to-use project management templates that can be customized according to your own needs.  These can be downloaded instantly and used by any-one with little or no project management experience. Solid As A Rock Project Toolkit will make you successful in managing your own business projects.

For service professionals who require assistance with their Online Marketing Strategy, I can help you plan and implement your Internet marketing plan helping you to attract more customers and increase sales for your business.

6. Community Involvement

One of my other passions that I care for deeply is educating people, including adults and school children. Through proper education they can too aspire to a better life. In my country we have a majority of people who are half-educated or completely illiterate – even in these modern times.

I aspire to donate a percentage of all earnings from Virtual Project Consulting to organizations that are positioned to educate less privileged children and adults. Through this my clients will also make a contribution to a good cause that can change the lives of many individuals in this country.

Please comment if you can associate with being a principled driven business who is passionate about what you do! Share your story with us.

Cape Town Waterfront with Soccer 2010 World Cup Stadium

Linky

15 PROJECT MANAGEMENT TIPS

VIRTUAL PROJECT CONSULTING

Presents project management tips:

1.   What is a project? 

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. It has a clear start and finish, a set of defined goals and objectives and a  sequence of activities.

2.   What is a good project definition? 

A project has a beginning and an end and is unique; unlike operations that are ongoing. It is about managing team priorities to deliver within time, cost and quality constraints.

3.   Why do we need projects? 

Some reasons why we need projects in business today are tighter budgets, diminishing resources, more time constraints, more competition and to achieve service excellence.

4.   What are examples of projects?

Examples of projects are:

  • developing a new product or service
  • implementation of strategic objectives 
  • restructuring your business organization
  • constructing a new facility
  • office move or re-arranging the office
  • planning a special event

5.   What is project management?

The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to projects to meet project requirements and deliver projects successfully within budget, on time and with desired quality.

6.   What does project management comprise of?

Project management comprise of a set of skills. Also required is:

  • Specialist knowledge, skills and experience are required to reduce the level of risk within a project and thereby enhance its likelihood of success.
  • A suite of tools for example document templates.
  • A series of processes. In professional project management various management techniques and processes are required to monitor and control time, cost, quality and scope on projects.

7.   What is a project methodology? 

A methodology is a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out as part of a project life cycle to deliver projects. The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.

8.   What is the power of project management? 

The power of project management is that it makes it possible to focus on priorities, measure and track performance.

9.   What are the industries that use project management?

Project management is used in industries like online publishing, banking, software development, information technology and manufacturing.

10.       What skills do project managers need? 

Project managers need to be very skilled in leadership, communications, human resources-, quality-, time-, cost management and integration.

11.       What are the benefits of project management?

Some benefits of having project management in your business are:

  • it helps to meet or exceed customer expectations 
  • it maximizes the use of resources (time, people, money, space)
  • it brings projects to successful conclusion within budget, on time and with desired quality
  • it documents what was done for future reference
  • it builds confidence in your team for future projects.

12.       How is project management different from management?

In project management work is managed towards a single objective for a unique endeavor with a definite beginning and an end. In general management it is about multiple related objectives to manage the workload in an operations environment where work is done continuously.

13.       How are projects different from standard business operational activities?

  • Projects are unique and do not involve repetitive processes
  • Projects have a defined timescale. They have a clearly specified start and end date within which the deliverables must be produced to meet a specified customer requirement
  • A project have an approved budget
  • Projects have limited resources like labour, equipment, material
  • Projects achieve beneficial change. The purpose of a project, typically, is to improve an organization through the implementation of business change. 

14.       Who is the governing body for project management?

The Project Management Institute, or known as the PMI. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is prescribed as their project management handbook.

15.       Is there a special qualification for Project Managers?

The Project Management certification is called the Project Management Professional (PMP). The the title of a PMP certification is known and acknowledged worldwide.

Your VirtualPM

Linky

PS: For related Project Management articles, read here.

PPS: To use a Project Management Toolkit in your business, have a look at the Solid as a Rock here.

Linky

Social Media Phenomenon

Social Networking

The rapid emergence of social networking over the past five years is nothing short of a phenomenon. Social networking and blogs are now more popular than e-mail.  “Social networking has become a fundamental part of the global online experience.” According to John Burbank, Nielsen Online’s CEO.

Social Media is part of Web 2.0. With Web 2.0 the potential exists to create an interactive, dynamic environment where individuals, consumers and business collaborate, communicate and share.  It is viral by nature.

A growing number of news publishers have adapted their strategies from simply having websites to participating in social media through active use of sites like Twitter to drive awareness and conversation around their brands and offerings.  CNN and the New York Times have some of the largest following on Twitter.  Source: Nielsen Report

According to Michael Stelzner who published the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, the people most likely to use Social Media Marketing, are aged between 30 and 39 years.  Certainly, for people new to Social Media, there are many questions that come to mind. These questions are asked by Entrepreneurs, Business Owners/Executives of any size company and Service Professionals.

What Is Social Media Marketing?

Social Media Marketing can be defined as an engagement with online communities to generate exposure, opportunity and sales.  It’s the online conversation among customers, investors, employees, fans and critics.  The power is shifting from corporations to individuals and communities.

This is the new model that is part of Web 2.0 where people use the Web’s potential for creating an interactive, dynamic environment where individuals, consumers and businesses can collaborate and communicate in new and simpler ways.

The Social Media model enables a number of things:

  • informing
  • persuading
  • involving
  • demonstrating
  • reminding

Above all,  Social Media Marketing is free! All it takes, is a time commitment and using Social Media tools according to a predefined strategy. In this day and age it makes sense to use Social Media to promote your business.

To find answers on the 10 most asked questions, read this special report to understand how marketers are using Social Media to grow and promote their businesses.

Linky

ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT PASSION

Can one be passionate about project management?

Wikipedia’s definition of PASSION as an emotion, is a strong feeling about a subject, usually of intense desire and attraction.

In a learning context, PASSION can be expressed as a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm or compelling emotion towards a subject, idea. A person is said to have a passion for something when they have a strong positive affinity for it.

I would say that I qualify to be labeled as a passionate project manager. It all started in school with my desire to help people, also to help themselves. This influenced my decision to do a Social Work degree, which is not the kind of ‘help’ that I intended. I finished my degree, but in Psychology and from there went on to obtain an Information Technology qualification. My first real job was behind the computer at a corporate Life Insurance company, not as an IT specialist, but as a Project Administrator.

Being in a supportive role, I naturally transgressed into a technical IT support role with a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) qualification to earn the respect of my mostly male colleagues. As part of a Server Support team and being the only female for years, all the project management work which required much communication skills, was passed on to me.

One of my managers recognized my natural talent and skills as a flair for project management and sent me for proper project management training, which was also training in a project management methodology. I never looked back… A few years later (2004), I gained the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification.

Throughout years of studying and learning on the job, I was blessed with the addition of 3 beautiful children that enriched my life to the point that I actually gave up my full-time, permanent position and started to work in contract project management (2 years at Microsoft Consulting Services). This way I had the flexibility to work part-time and still continue with a professional career.

It was also during these years that I discovered Robert Kiyasaki’s books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Cashflow etc which really brought about a huge mind shift for me in how I view work.  Finally, I was on my way from being a permanent employee (working hard to enrich other people) to being a self-employed professional and eventually a business owner.  I find the final transition to being a business owner a bit harder and with a steep learning curve. However, working hard for yourself and your own (and family’s) financial freedom is one of the most satisfying journeys of my life so far.

After establishing a successful home business 1.5 years ago (leveraging other people’s time, making a consistent profit) and learning much about running a small business, I ventured into the world of having an Internet-based business. Here I was much influenced by people like Rich Schefren, Tellman Knudson, Stompernet, Mike Filsaime, Jimmy Brown to name a few who are all highly successful and influential Internet Marketers. I am discovering more people who I resonate with and like to learn from every day.

Now I am faced with a steeper learning curve than ever before (maybe as intense as becoming a parent for the first time).  I have a hard time juggling between learning, business building, information overload (emails, websites and meeting new people, networking etc) on the one hand, while continuing with a professional career and the needs and demands from a 5-person family on the other.

You may be wondering why I am sharing all of this with you?!

It is to prove that my core desire is still prevailing after all these years – my aspiration to help people, to equip people and to empower people to reach their full potential. This is part of a basic human need to self-actualization (see Maslow’s hierargy of basic human needs). If life is about learning, earning and returning, you could say that my Project Management Consulting business is about returning my project management knowledge, skills and experience of the past 11 years to help other people grow.

If you are also passionate about what you do, why not share it as a comment!

If you have business projects and you want to master project management, click here.