What's the easiest, fastest way to scale up creative design project management on a budget?

I tried Basecamp, Jira, Unfuddle, Trello and PivotalTracker before for different projects which were developed with agile approach. All of them worked fine to me and I needed some time to setup my framework and processes there. I think it would be worth checking Trello or PivotalTracker which I personally like more than Basecamp because of better agile oriented structure.

Our team uses Basecamp and Slack. Both are very easy to use and have a lot of features out of the box. Basecamp's benefit compared to other project management software is that it is easy to use. We have used other systems with our clients like Jira and iMeet but we found both had a learning curve that was much steeper than Basecamp. Slack isn't really a project management system but it really helps us with our communication. It allows for "channels" so you could talk about different projects with the same people without confusion. It also has a lot of integrations and will definitely help out a lot. It has an unlimited free trial so there is really no reason not to try it.

I ran a web design agency for 6 years, despite of studying PMBOK for advanced project management (for Engineering projects). I used "Web Redesign, Strategies for Success by Kelly Goto" Courser Link: http://www.lynda.com/Web-Design-tutorials/webredesignstrategiesforsuccess/316-6.html as a basis for building our project management model. 1) Breakdown the project into milestones for your team and for your client example (Finish Wireframes, Confirm on Design Palette and colors, Confirm on Content, Functionality Testing) 2) Include all expected tasks/hours from the beginning, should be increasing with your experience, especially you are focusing on specific platforms, let customer see the different dates in which they are required to provide feedback, even schedule calls with clients on these days 2) Use a robust Project Management tool like BaseCamp, where you can give client direct access to the platform preferably with a Skype/Telephony functionality to schedule calls. If you need any more help designing and deploying your PM system, I would be glad to help.

I like Harvest both for time-tracking and for invoicing clients. It's simple, which I love.

As you can imagine this is a vast question. The key elements are to be able to pay attention in 4 different ways simultaneously: 1. Diffuse Focus: You must keep an open mind to give you a global vision of what is happening within and outside of your business. This means keeping up with industry news but also knowing what is going on outside of your normal frame of reference. Keeping this global vision helps you take better mid & long term strategic decisions without being overwhelmed by daily pressure. 2. Narrow Focus: You must keep a very narrowly focused set of priorities and short term action points based on your mid & long term strategies. Having a precise laser focus of activities helps increase day to day performance and return on investment. This is the way to grow in a lean way as well as to manage employees successfully. Having a clear narrow focus is the key to get things done. 3. External Focus: Being able to take distance from your business and taking unemotional decisions helps you take the right strategic decisions. You must be able to step away from your baby and do what is best for the business rather than holding on to the past. It is easy to become to attached to certain aspects of our business that is detrimental to the well being of the business. Taking an external focus helps you get distance and take the right decisions. 4. Immersed Focus: By being in touch with your personal vision, values and goals, your business becomes more than simply a cash cow. Knowing why you believe that your business adds value to the world and communicating it with your employees gives a meaning to their work. The best way to inspire others and to keep motivated through the difficulties of running one's own business is to be in touch with the meaning of what you do. If you can pay attention to your business in these 4 different ways simultaneously, you will stay on top of all the moving parts. This means you will be able to simultaneously understand what is going on in your industry at a macro-level, as well as how to manage employees, deal with customers, keep track of finances, and update your strategies to maximise success.