Melanie Strick is the founder of Success Connections and an entrepreneur’s success coach. Success Connections helps entrepreneurs and business owners discover simple strategies to create more money, prestige and freedom in their business.

Briefly describe your team.

I run a business which mostly consists of virtual team members and contractors who work all over the country. I have eleven people who coordinate with me and our tasks range from marketing and web design, to personal assistance and product management.

How are you using Smartsheet.com?

“I’m using it to keep my sanity!” I use Smartsheet to put all my projects into two general spreadsheets: one is an at-a-glance view of marketing projects and client improvements; the other is to organize marketing campaigns and services in a step-by-step checklist of what needs to be done from each team member. Smartsheet also helps us organize and plan our product launches.

When did you start with us?

April 2007

Why did you choose Smartsheet.com over other providers?

It had the easiest system to use and the features we need. I had an opportunity to speak with the CEO, who was so awesome to work with that it really won me over to Smartsheet.

What issue were you looking to solve?

Our project deliverables were falling through cracks. We never knew what was getting done because people around the country were all working on their own schedules and at their own rates.

What stood out for you?

I love that you could take a line item and attach it to a specific task. It also helps being able to assign tasks to people directly and then track what’s going on.

What were you using before?

Google docs, Excel, Outlook tasks.

How did Smartsheet.com address what is unique to your business?

Since everyone in my company is virtual and Smartsheet is a web based tool, it was a big help that everyone could look at the same page live during team meetings. Just having pre-designed templates was so great. I could use them over and over again and not have to recreate the wheel. I do a lot of group coaching programs for small business owners, so when I saw this I knew it would be a great virtual tool for my Virtual Team Building Tele-Bootcamp. Everyone that signs up for my virtual webinar program will be able to tap into my own private project worksheets in Smartsheet. And it’s a great tool to give to my clients.

Have you achieved any measurable results?

I know we’ve improved our performance by at least 30%. Getting things done faster, less slipping though cracks, outcome is quick.