Money
Introduction
There are many misconceptions about money amongst aspiring entrepreneurs. Often, there is too much focus on finding “the right investor” rather than creating “the right company”. It is clear that there can be too little money, but there can also be too much, leading to dilution and loss of optionality in the pursuit of ever-larger returns. But for the project manager, once the money is in hand, the real work begins!
What
Managing a project requires planning activities and then budgeting and measuring variance from the budget. If that variance grows too large, either due to poor planning, poor execution, or a change in direction, the earlier the project manager knows, the better the chance that she can do something about it.
When
Whenever you have a project.
Why
If you run out of money, the game is over. More positively, if you’re managing your budget carefully, you may discover opportunities to accelerate your timeline, decrease your risk, or increase the rigor in your data package. If you budget once a year and hope, you’ll almost certainly miss these opportunities.
Learning Goals
Basic Project Management