What is the best way to help people estimate their required effort on tasks accurately so the rest of the team can make realistic and accurate plans?

I've been where you are - it kind of sucks :) I think you need to do a bit of a reset on your personal mindset - Effective agile management is never a "nice to have" - its what keeps things flowing, working, and on time. To that end - do you know who your ideal client really is? Let's break down your options (per your question): Startups - If not funded, move on. You don't need equity, you need revenue. If they are funded it could be a good fit.. Creative Agencies - I think you're giving creative agencies too much credit here - you need to narrow that down. Are you looking at marketing and advertising agencies, or software development shops? The former usually is...lost?... when it comes to Agile, so you'll have a bit of educational work involved, the latter more than likely is already agile by nature. I've also found that sometimes agencies will shy away from outsourcing things like project management (its a control issue). Solo guys - this all comes down to one question - "Do they have money?" I'm sure you feel a bit like you're in a rock and a hard place. There are clearly some variables here that I'm not covering, but would in a chat. The bottom line is that you need to get a handle on WHO you want to work with, WHAT you are solving for them, and WHY your services are better than what they are currently doing. People buy solution, not prevention. With that in mind, you should be able to find a starting point. If you would like to have a chat, schedule one with me - My team and I do growth strategies for businesses of all sizes, and if we have a chat here on Clarity, and I think I can help, I'd be willing to do an in depth 45 minute session with you for free.

It depends on your charter or mission as well as your long term vs. Short term objectives. If your mission involves a larger more expansive view - then you will need to spend a lot more time on unique problem solving that has a strong potential ROI feeding the fulfillment of the mission. It kind of boils down to ROI (return on investment) vs. risk for me: I look at the ROI and risk (opportunity cost) for almost everything that I choose to do - this helps me compare various choices for what to focus on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Having clear objectives for the month, week and year also help in selecting what percentage of time as per your question. If the solution of this problem feeds the fulfillment of your objectives vs. the solution of this problem prevents a risky situation: that may be the question to answer. I hope this helps. Feel free to interact so that I can delve into the complexities and nuances that are inevitably there.

If I have to tell you only one thing: it is Distribution. Most of the entrepreneurs (including me at one point) are so obsessed with the product and adding new features to it. They completely overlooked the fact that Distributing the product is what play single most important role. Even over the quality of the product.

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

There's a bit of myth regarding time management in my view. That said, I think there are two perspectives to the answer - depending on your perspective in asking the question. If you're asking because you seem to be running out of steam before you get the work you need done in a week, I'd suggest your issue is not time management but either energy management or focus. I've done a few blog/podcasts on this subject from that angle: http://wisenapkin.com/2014/01/10/four-step-focus-man-dave-lakhani/‎ http://wisenapkin.com/2014/02/25/profit-favors-action-dave-lakhani-president-bold-approach-inc/ http://wisenapkin.com/2013/12/19/time-management-is-a-myth-michael-walsh/ On the other hand, if you feel like you work all day and are failing to get ahead on the key and important parts of your day, I'd suggest you have an issue with establishing priorities: http://wisenapkin.com/2014/03/25/live-the-picture-jack-daly-speaker-trainer-coach-author/ http://wisenapkin.com/2014/02/18/defend-your-yes-jay-papasan-author-publisher-and-entrepreneur/ Make it a great day!