Setting you up for Success

One of the foundations I believe are integral to growing your business is time. Managing your time well sets you up for success. If you want to ensure you use your time well in your business, Trello is your tool.

When I first discovered Trello years ago I wrote it off as ‘too creative’. Now that might sound strange coming from someone who is creative at heart (numbers aren’t my only obsession haha) but I misjudged it the first time round as I got caught up in its many customisable functions and visual options.

What I’ve come to realise is that when used well Trello is a lifesaver.

Why Trello

Here’s what I love about Trello:

• Useability – it can literally be used for a-n-y-thing
• Customisation – change colours, add your branding, add images
• Duplicate – Ability to copy boards, lists and cards for repeating tasks
• Collaboration – boards can be shared with team members, business partners, clients, family members (think shopping list, family holiday planning)
• Organisation – you can store anything digitally in Trello
• Calendar – use the calendar function inside Trello for your date focused boards, or link it to your external calendar
• Planning – projects, launches, client work, social media content calendars, to-do lists
• Task Management – manage workloads by setting tasks, due dates, assigning them to team members, tracking their progress, keep a record of communication about tasks.
• Record-Keeping – no need to spend hours trying to find all of your operational documents. Store them or their location links in Trello Boards and give access to those who need it eg branding, training, rosters, recruitment, processes.
• Brainstorming – have far too many ideas? Use Trello cards to record your ideas and, if you decide to move them forward and convert them into a product/service/important thing, you can easily move the card to a board where it can be planned out and actioned as part of your to-do list.

And my very favourite thing about Trello – its visual. If you need to ‘see’ things like I do, Trello will make you happy.

Trello Basics

While this isn’t ‘How to Use Trello’ training, I have covered off below some of the basic terms and functions you’ll need to know that form the structure of Trello.

Boards – a top-level view of how you're using Trello. With a free account, you have a limit on the number of boards you can create. With a paid account, you have unlimited boards.

Lists – within a Board are Lists to categorise your board items

Cards – within a List are Cards that help you break down your lists into smaller items

PowerUps – allow you to bring integrate your favourite apps into Trello eg Google drive and sync your content so any changes you make are reflected in Trello. Effectively making your boards ‘live’!

Butler – let Trello’s Butler suggest automations you could make on your Boards based on your use of Trello. (not available on the free account)

Labels – a way to categorise a card, represented by a colour and if you want to, a name. There are 10 label colours to choose from in Trello and a colourless label option.

Templates – Trello provides lots of free templates for Boards for everything from to-do lists, projects, workflows and more that you can copy into your account and start using or customise to suit your needs.

There is also a new feature called Workspaces. This is essentially a collection of boards. So if your business has for example divisions, you could use this to create a couple of workspaces. Another example is separating your Home and your business as workspaces. This feature has many different ways of setting up a business.

How to Start Using Trello Today

Sign up for a free account here: Trello SignUp

or try Trello Business Class (what I use) for a 14-day trial here: Trello Trial

Once you’re in, you now have a blank canvas to set up your workspaces and boards.

Have a think about the best way to set up your business. Your decision may change depending on whether you have the free or paid plan, so take some time to map out what you need first before jumping in.

Here is one I think works well on a paid account (which will limit you to 1 Workspace with the extra features and unlimited boards). Note you can still use more workspaces, they will just be limited to the free features and have a board limit.

One way to set up your business is to create boards for all of your ‘divisions’. If you have an organisational chart this is a great reference to use. If you don’t, consider creating a draft of one as a guide to set up your boards.

Even if you don’t actually have divisions right now, imagine all of the different areas your business is made up of and map that into an organisational chart. Think recruitment, staffing/HR, sales, customer service, bookkeeping, marketing, IT. You get the idea.

You may also create separate boards for a Team To-Do List, or Projects. Keep in mind if you are on the free account you will be limited to the number of boards you can create so decide what’s important.

For each board, you can start to add lists and cards. Play around with the different options and you will start to get a feel for what’s possible. Every business is different so you’ll need to make some decisions that suit your business needs. Don’t be afraid to try and adjust as you go.

The Trello blog is a fantastic source of what’s possible and a how-to guide if you get stuck – you can check it out here: Trello Blog

So that’s my summary of why you should use Trello for business. I hope you can see the value in it. Once you start using Trello for its benefits I’m sure you will be amazed at just how much it has to offer.

As long as you are careful not to fall down the rabbit hole of pretty board background images and colour options, you’ll be fine. (Been there, learned my lesson!)

I’d love to hear the ways you’ve used Trello in your business.

Reach out on email and let me know – [email protected]