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"I worked as an accountant for 8 years and worked with Microsoft Excel each day for hours" begins Google Sheets as well as AppsScript's experienced trainer Ben L Collins. "Almost everything I was working on were completed with Excel however it wasn't any thing I had any idea about. I'd written a few coded programs but had never worked with spreadsheets for any reason.
"Pretty at the beginning of my work I was required by my supervisor to finish different projects by using Excel"Combine Tables' and on and on, but I completed everything myself!" His boss handed him some formulas that could help him in the course of his work. Ben recognized that one of the most important skills needed by anyone working in a financial professional is the capacity to deal with data.
"The people who have the ability to succeed at this sport benefit more than people who just struggle across," Ben continues. I thought "Right now, I'm likely have to work to enhance my skills that I already have. Then I searched for sites including mrexcel.com as well as chandoo.org They could have the same abilities to mine today but using Excel 15 years prior."
The more Ben explored calculations and spreadsheets, more enthralled his mind was: "It was this rabbit tunnel which seemed to get ever deeper and more." Ben was aware that some of the information he gathered in his university times could be utilized in different programming languages that work in conjunction with databases, for example VBA.
Through his career as an accountant became increasingly interested in the technological advances, rather than the finance or accounting. "After 8 years of working for a reputable accounting firm, I realized that I'd done enough to be done!. I wasn't sure what the next step, but one of my first ideas was becoming an engineer." Ben tells me.
Ben L Collins speaking at a private event
He was a student at a few classes prior to applying for jobs. "It was not going as good as I had hoped, however I did launch my own website, along with writing pieces. My very first pieces that I wrote were about Google Sheets and these are the ones that ended up being integrated into the Google Search." These articles led to an array of requests from customers as well as pay-per-hour work.
"In the months of 2014 and 2015., there was just the smallest percentage of people saying"Hey, could help me build my dashboard using spreadsheets Do you have any suggestions? Furthermore, can you make a the time to look over my company spreadsheets and help me with coming up with ways to improve these formulas? '."
The job involved Excel, Google Sheets, SQL as well as Tableau. "It was not really the actual work, however it was the foundation for an assumption that there is something to it. It could be possible to be an independent contractor rather than being able to return to the job I was employed at . It was never my intention to return to my job in accounting!" Ben smiles. "I am trying to stay up in order to improve my abilities and technology."
Goodbye accounting, hello education
In the beginning, the site for the education General Assembly was just a startup and was launching courses specifically targeted at researchers and developers. "They have just launched an online course in database analysis that has a half-time program. Because I've taken a course at their school as a student in one of their classes for developers, I was in excellent communication with the staff at the time. The first time they offered this data course and needed instructors. It consisted of Excel, SQL and Tableau," Ben continues. "I realized, 'Hey!' precisely my life from the age of eight. ! '." He completed the application process and was eventually offered the job. He taught many times throughout the year of 2015.
"That inspired me to decide to go back to the teaching profession," Ben recalls. "I'd been through a few experiences being a teacher in the university environment, as well as in the role of being the teacher of students at the time I finished my schooling." Then, he began with corporate training through the internet-based platform, along with teaching workshops and various classes. "As I started to grow my the audience for my courses, in 2017, I decided to create my own online course in order to evaluate it."
) A course on Google Query. Google Query feature within Sheets
The training Ben delivered was a success. The course was enough to motivate Ben to design a follow-up course. "I utilized an online platform referred to as Teachable because I wanted to build a connection to my customers and to maintain that connection, rather than moving it to the internet like Udemy."
I opted to conduct a bit of studies, and one name that interested me was the man who runs the tech-related publication Stratechery, Ben Thompson. He's among those whom they consider to are"the OG!" Ben is giggling. "I have joined several memberships to check out how other members like Flowing Data and Craig Mod did this." Ben had been receiving their monthly newsletter, which is free, for quite several months, and I was fascinated by the methods they'd used to build their business models based on the members. I responded, "I want mine to be like theirs.'. I really loved how the process went smoothly - I thought that I would want to go through the same experiences.'
It is vital to work at a high speed
A quick summary, Ben's Membership Service is comprised of premium (or "gated") details that is located on WordPress and is an exclusive electronic newsletter sent by email using Kit (formerly ConvertKit). The main focus is on Google Sheets and it includes information on the product's features along with updates and other details - and ways to get your most out of the program.
"The subsequent newsletter will provide detailed information on new functions Google has released in the month preceding this calendar." Ben adds. These are extremely useful features that allow you for manipulating data. They'll also provide instructions in video form on how to use the capabilities, and a link to Google Sheet. Google Sheet template that people could download for personal usage. The writer also states that the live seminar will be held will be about this subject. "I mail out monthly newsletters to inform specific information concerning the dates and time, along with an Google Meet link for the live seminar."
Asked concerning the prospects for membership Ben believes that membership is likely to become the main source of revenue for his company. "I am definitely looking to attract new members into my business, since I want membership to be the sole choice available," he says. "I offer an online library that is accessible for free but you can sign up to be an official member in order to help my work and gain additional details."
Similar to Chess using Google Sheets
The author also describes how he provided services and included ads inside his free newsletter. He is trying to get away from this "if I am able to grow the number of subscribers to be large enough that it's nice to be rid of the other things. There's still some small things to work on however, increasing the number of subscribers is essential. "
He's capable of coming up with a variety of ways of developing his service. "I've considered this for now: I can be better in presenting these live events as well as creating plans for attracting more members to this year's activities. Software is scheduled to be updated. There's no reason to alter how it functions, but there'll be additional streams live."
The individual also says he would prefer to devise an efficient way for the members to communicate information on what they're working on and the way they'd like to approach to in the future "That can be accomplished via "office hours' or a better methods of getting people talking or asking questions" insofar as it is efficient and sustainable to all involved.
Ben claims that in the present, his communications with his fans are carried out via emails. "I suggest that you respond with a text message which reads "Hey Please tell me about your behavior'. This is my preferred method because it's easy to manage.
He'd offer forum discussions and 'cohort courses', as well as work with Google Sheets issues online together as a team. "We managed to complete two projects in 2021. Google Sheets were the talk around town. It was a great experience however, it was stress-inducing for the five days that the students were in the classroom. It was like being in a "firehose of questions. It was my first time with a group of this kind. But I'm worried that once I've switched off on the light, I'll not be able to turn them off. This is something I'd like look into, but how can I get it done without causing damage?
"I was not even thinking about live streaming prior to starting. I thought"Just start streaming and see how it goes. Verify what I'm doing before I make commitments all the time. It's working! The host is excited about adding live shows "They're entertaining and participants enjoy lots from the programs. Let's see what we can do!"
Ben hosts an on-line Zoom session for customers of his.
"Right time I'm conducting courses like these In each class, I'll pick a topic and then cover it during the live demonstration," he continues. The co-taught classes it was more informal forum "People were in the room to ask, "Hey, what's my issue. we'd discuss the issue in real-time. Others were able to view. We'll be looking into having similar events in the future. It's a great way for kids to get involved."
At the end of the day, he considers Discord Q&A forums is an alternative, but Ben states that "I would like to make certain that I'm able to do my job in a way which doesn't burden me." It is clear that Ben has already established an enduring and lasting relationship with his followers. We think that keeping the friendships as time passes is crucial to the long-term sustainability of his involvement "Little steps to take We'll slowly increase the effort we put into it!" He smiles.
Additional details
Ben Collins is an educator, writer, developer who is the co-founder The Collins School of Data. Ben Collins develops online classes as well as blogs about the Google Workspace tools. My main focus is the analysis of data and automating it using Google Sheets and Apps Script.
Ben L Collins' website
He is a firm believer in creating light apps that have a base in data. They are also integrated using Google's Google stack. There are several such applications: Google Sheets, Looker Studio, Google Apps Script, Forms, Docs, Gmail as well as other. For more information visit benlcollins.com.
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