Scaling a Side Hustle With Confidence Using Wethos

When you’re just getting started with freelancing, leveling up your business is a challenge without the right tools or insights.

Whether you’re a full-time freelancer or freelance as a side hustle, Wethos’ all-in-one software is the easiest way to start and scale your freelance business with confidence. 

Here’s how one part-time solopreneur used Wethos to scale his freelance business with detailed scoping and seamless invoicing.

Background

Raysam Donkoh-Halm is a multimedia marketing creative and video producer. While he works full-time at a human capital management software company, Raysam uses his experience in various video roles — he’s handled all aspects of video production, including creative direction, shooting, post-production, and writing for local access stations, nonprofits, and large commercial shoots — to occasionally take on freelance video, production, and documentary filmmaking projects. 

As a solo side hustle, Raysam’s freelance business stack didn’t previously consist of many tools or a solid process. Because he worked on small-scale projects on an occasional basis, he didn’t feel he was at the point where he needed a system to manage all of his documents or track his projects. 

Raysam’s need to level up his scoping and invoicing process became clear when he was approached for a documentary production opportunity. He knew he had to put together a professional, detailed scope of work that broke down exactly what the project and pricing would entail, as well as find a tool that would allow him to pay himself and a team.

The Challenge: Leveling Up a Solo Operation

With a larger production in the works and the possibility of bringing on support from other freelancers, Raysam sought a solution that would simplify the scoping process, organize the project phases, and manage invoicing.

Raysam recalls looking for a tool that was, “not only an invoicing tool, but also something to manage budgets, and make sure I knew where [money and resources] were going,” he says. “For example, knowing that this amount is going into the pre-production stage, this amount is going into production, etc.”

That’s when he discovered the power of Wethos’ all-in-one software.

Solution: Professional and Data-backed Scopes 

Raysam initially turned to Wethos’ scoping tool to find out what industry standards are when it comes to documentary and video production scopes and pricing. He used Wethos’ free scope of work templates not only to see what other freelancers are charging for similar services but also to “check if there’s another part of the production process that I may have overlooked,” he says. 

While the scoping templates and pricing data were what drew him to Wethos, Raysam quickly realized the platform’s visual scoping capabilities could also help inform his process and create documents that made his pitch more compelling. 

“As a filmmaker [who’s] trying to start freelancing, [I thought], what should a good invoice look like?” he recalls. “A lot of [other tools] just give you a final number and not too much context beyond like, this is how you should manage it. The way that Wethos’ scoping tool is laid out and designed, I was able to play with the numbers in real time and actually see whether my pricing was above or below the scope. I really knew where I should delegate my resources.”

Results: Scaling a Side Hustle With Wethos 

Faster Scoping

After using Wethos’ visual scoping tool and detailed templates, Raysam significantly cut down on the time it typically took him to put together a scope.

“During the initial scoping process, something that would've taken me at least a week took me maybe a day or two.”

Stronger Pitching

Not only was he able to save time using Wethos during the scoping phase, but Raysam could also confidently pitch his pricing and scope of work to both clients and teammates. 

“In my presentation to [clients] and also to my teammates, I could say, these are the numbers and this is how it all looks. I was able to integrate those charts and visuals into my pitch deck, and people were immediately put at ease — which is great when you’re talking about money.”

Seamless Invoicing

While the scoping tool was what initially drew him to Wethos, Raysam quickly realized the platform’s invoicing capabilities were beneficial for his freelance business too — whether he had a solo or a team project in the pipeline. 

“Even outside of my bigger projects when I need to delegate money between myself and other people, I’m still going to continue using Wethos for invoicing because it’s a great organizational tool.”

Before Wethos, Raysam didn’t have a solid process or informed frame of reference for creating project scopes or managing invoicing. Now, with Wethos, he has a platform to confidently manage his business whether he continues freelancing part-time or chooses to scale.