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"I employed as an accountant for 8 years, and used Microsoft Excel every day for lengthy periods of time" starts Google Sheets and Apps Script the expert instructor Ben L Collins. "Almost every task I worked on was performed in Excel but I did not possess any prior knowledge. I'd coded however I had not completed any work with spreadsheets.
"Pretty in the first few months of my employment I was being asked by my boss me to finish a number of tasks in Excel such as "Combine these tables," etc. - but I had to do it all by hand!" The boss pointed out how to use formulas to speed up his work. Ben recognized right then the primary ability for anyone in a finance-related profession is being able modify data.
"The people who have the ability be effective in this endeavor will be a long way ahead of those that are chaotic," Ben continues. I was thinking, "Right, I'm going to need to improve my abilities and I came across a bunch of websites online like mrexcel.com and chandoo.org These people were doing exactly what I do today and only using Excel 15 years ago."
The more Ben could look at formulas and spreadsheets, the more fascinated he became: "It was this rabbit tunnel that kept getting deeper and deeper." Ben discovered that some of the training in coding that he had taken in the college years could be combined with different programming languages that work in conjunction with databases such as VBA.
In the course of his tenure as an accountant who was a professional the accountant was primarily interested with technology, and not so much in finance or accounting. "After eight years of work at a job that I loved, I felt like 'I'm finished!. I was unsure of what I could do next However, one of my original ideas was to be a programmer." Ben tells me.
Ben L Collins speaking in an evening function
He completed some classes then started applying for positions. "It did not really take off, however, I set about developing my own website along with writing articles. Some of my early articles I wrote were about Google Sheets and they're the ones that were noticed by Google Search." Google Sheets brought in a number of inquiries from customers and pay-per-hour jobs.
"In 2014 and 2015 there was enough of some inbound calls saying, 'Hey, can I get assistance with creating the dashboard with spreadsheets or spreadsheets?' For instance "Can you look at my spreadsheets for the company and help me figure out methods to improve these spreadsheets? ? '."
The work included Excel, Google Sheets, SQL and Tableau. "It wasn't really an actual work, but was an indication of think"Maybe there's something to be found in this area. Perhaps I could be a freelancer rather than returning to my previous job . I don't intend returning to the accounting position!" Ben smiles. "I want to keep up with the advancements in technology and research."
Goodbye accounting, hello education
At first, the education site General Assembly was just a business that was only beginning and planned to introduce professional courses for programmers as well as data analysts. "They introduced a part-time data analysis course. Because I'd done a course in their class as a participant for one of their courses for developers I had a good understanding of the group who was in the class. At the start, when they released this course on data, they were recruiting for instructors. It consisted of Excel, SQL and Tableau," Ben continues. "I was thinking"Ooh, that's just exactly what I do when I was just eight years old. ! '." The applicant went through the process, and was offered the job and he was an instructor for the class for a number of times throughout 2015.
"That motivated me to become back into teaching," Ben recalls. "I'd taught at college, as a mentor for youngsters as I entered my last year of college." He began by adding corporate training in the online offerings including tutorials and courses. "As I began to increase the number of people interested in my content, I thought I'd try my own courses to try out the waters."
) A course on the Query function within Google Sheets
The course's instruction was viewed very well, enough to prompt Ben to start a new course. "I made use of a website called Teachable in order for a way to build a relationship with my students and maintain the relationship rather than transferring it onto a marketplace, such as Udemy."
I did some searching and the name that kept coming on the internet was the man who is the editor of the tech news magazine Stratechery, Ben Thompson. He's one of those who are the OG!" Ben laughs. "I had been a member for some memberships to study how other members like Flowing Data and Craig Mod have done it." Ben was reading their newsletters for a long time, and I was interested in how they had implemented their membership businesses. I thought to myself, "I want mine to look like theirs.'. I really loved how it was so simple and straightforward to do. I was thinking"I would like this membership feel..'
It is important to keep in a forward pace
The context is that Ben's subscription offer currently includes the highest quality (or "gated") content which is stored on WordPress and an electronic newsletter of premium quality that sends out via email using Kit (formerly ConvertKit). In terms of the content, it is centered around Google Sheets that include product functions, updates and more - as well as how to make maximum value out of the application.
"The next newsletter will an in-depth look at the latest tools that Google released in the past year." Ben adds. They're extremely helpful features to manipulate data, so there'll be a video demonstration about it, as well as the URL to an Google Sheet template that people might download to themselves. The speaker also says that there will be a live discussion on the topic will take place. "I make use of the newsletters to communicate information about the session and also to provide with you the Google Meet link for the live sessions."
When asked about the direction of his business, Ben thinks membership could turn into the heart of his company. "I sure would like to get new members because I would like that membership to be my only service," he says. "I have that model of an online library with free content, and then you can join as a professional member to help me out and receive more details."
Z6fYkdbv3aadzawtsO The simulation of a game chess by using Google Sheets
He states that he has been capable of providing consultation services as well as add ads to his free newsletter. However, his goal is to shift away from this "if I can grow my membership to be big enough and it's a great idea to rid of all that other stuff. There are tiny areas to work on, however growing the membership is essential. "
He says he's got diverse ideas of expanding the scope of his services. "I've been thinking on the moment that I'd like to do better at broadcasting these live events as well as we're planning to invite members up next year. The service itself will change. The final product will not be radically different however, we'll keep doing live stuff."
The person also says that he would like to develop an efficient method that allows members to exchange information about the kinds of issues they're working with and the issues they'd like to resolve -- "That could be via 'office hours' or a better method to send questions" as long as it's done in a viable and beneficial way for everyone concerned.
Ben states that at present, all the interaction with his followers is carried out via electronic newsletters. "I suggest that you respond by sending a message that says 'Hi I'd like to know about the items you're working on' I like it because it's easy to manage.
He had a reputation for facilitating discussions in forums as well as 'cohort courses where participants went through Google Sheets problems online as a group. "We took two of these courses in 2021 when they were all the rage. It was a great experience, but it felt very intensive for the first five weeks It was like a "firehose of questions. This is the first time I've participated in a group like that yet since I'm apprehensive that once I've switched it on, I can't completely turn off. I'd like think it through: how would you approach it from a longer-term view?
"I didn't have any live events in the beginning when I was first launching, but I thought"Just do it live and watch what the reception will be. Check out if I like performing it before I commit to everything.' But it's going well! He's keen to include live events "They're enjoyable and the participants get from these events. Let's see how it is going!"
Ben hosts the Zoom sessions for his clients.
"Right now, I'm teaching the subjects I've picked and will cover in the live class," he continues. But in the cohort courses it was more an open forum: "People would come in to say 'Hey this is the formula that I'm having trouble understanding We'd go over the challenge in real time. Other people could observe. It's something we'll be thinking about for the upcoming year. It's a fantastic method for students to be involved."
As a final thought, he believes it might be possible to create Discord Q&A forums is an alternative, but he states: "I just want to ensure that I'm prepared to handle it in a way which doesn't overwhelm me." The conversation sounds as if Ben has already started in the process of establishing the foundation of a lasting and solid relation with his group. It is our opinion that keeping a connection with time is essential to successful community membership "Little steps - we'll just continue to build this up as time goes by!" he smiles.
More details
Ben Collins is an educator and writer as well as a programmer. He is the founder of The Collins School of Data. Ben creates online courses and blogs about Google Workspace tools. My focus is on data analysis as well as automation by using Google Sheets and Apps Script.
Ben L Collins' website
He is a lover of developing light and data-driven apps for the Google stack, including Google Sheets, Looker Studio, Google Apps Script, Forms, Docs, Gmail and many more. For more information go to benlcollins.com.
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