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"I was an accountant for eight years and worked with Microsoft Excel every day for hours," starts Google Sheets and Apps Script an expert teacher Ben L Collins. "Almost all the tasks I worked with was done by using Excel but I did not have any knowledge of. I'd coded however I had not completed any work with spreadsheets.
"Pretty very early on in my career, I had a boss who required me to do various tasks using Excel"Combine these tables' et cetera - but I had to do it all manually!" His boss demonstrated a few formulas to make things simpler and Ben realized how one of the fundamental capabilities in any financial profession is simply having the ability to alter the data.
"The those who have the ability to accomplish this feat are leagues over those just bumbling through," Ben continues. I figured, "Right. I'll have to work on these skills and I came across numerous websites such as mrexcel.com and chandoo.org These sites were able to do what I'm doing today, only using Excel fifteen years earlier."
The more Ben looked into formulas and spreadsheets, more intrigued he got: "It was this rabbit tunnel that seemed to travel farther than." Ben realized that some of the coding education from his college days could be integrated with other programming languages to create databases such as VBA.
In the course of his career working as an accountant professional in the course of his career, he became more interested in technological advancements and less in finance and accounting. "After more than eight years working in the field, I decided"I'm exhausted and done!'. I wasn't sure of what to do next, but among my first thoughts was to change careers to become a software developer." Ben tells me.
It is the YWYQFjXiawUjOZ9y Ben L Collins speaking at an occasion
He attended a few classes, and began to apply for jobs. "It didn't really go anywhere but I did start creating my own website and began writing articles. The first pieces I wrote on Google Sheets and these were the ones that got noticed by Google Search." They triggered a lot of inquiries from customers and the possibility of paid freelance positions.
"In the year 2014 and 2015, there was a lot of an inbound flow of users asking, "Hey, do you want to help me create this dashboard by using Sheets?' Oder "Can you review my company's spreadsheets and assist me with figuring out the best way to improve those formulas ? '."
The task involved Excel, Google Sheets, SQL and Tableau. "It wasn't really an actual work, however it was a signal to say"Maybe there's something discovered here. It could be possible to become an independent contractor instead of going back to the job I had previously held' . It was not my intention to return to my accounting job!" Ben smiles. "I am determined to continue to improve my abilities and technologies."
Goodbye accounting, hello education
The education site General Assembly was just a start-up company and had plans to launch training courses specifically for developers and data analysts. "They had launched the possibility of a data analysis part-time course. Because I'd done a course within their course as a participant for one of their courses for developers, I enjoyed trust and respect for this group in the early days. When they introduced the data course in the year 2015, they were seeking instructors. The course was Excel, SQL and Tableau," Ben continues. "I am thinking 'Oh it's exactly my job since I was eight years old. ! '." He passed the being interviewed and was hired. He served as the instructor of the course for several versions in the year 2015.
"That got me interested in being a teacher," Ben recalls. "I'd had a few teaching experiences in college and as a mentor to youngsters when I was in my end of the year." Ben has begun to incorporate company training into his online offerings which included tutorials as well as courses. "As I started to see the increase in customers who were interested in my work, I decided that I'd try my own course to find out what results came out."
) A course on the query function of Google Sheets
The course's teaching was received positively, which was enough to persuade Ben to offer a third course. "I utilized a website known as Teachable since I wanted to build a direct relationship with my students and maintain that relationship myself instead of leaving it in the hands of a marketplace, such as Udemy."
I decided to do some digging and one name that kept popping up was that of the man who runs the tech newsletter Stratechery, Ben Thompson. Ben Thompson is one of the OG!" Ben is laughing. "I signed up for some subscriptions in order to see how other members thought of Flowing Data and Craig Mod did this." Ben was receiving their newsletter at no cost for some time, and wanted to know how they had created their membership business. I thought "I wish my own to be just like that.'. I was awed by it the ease of signing up and easy to join. I was thinking"I would like this membership feel..'
The goal is to continue moving forward with a steady pace
To give you a context, Ben's membership service is now comprised of premium (or 'gated') information hosted by WordPress and a premium email newsletter sent through emails through Kit (formerly ConvertKit). For content focused around Google Sheets which includes products features, updates and other information and ways to get the most out of it.
"The next newsletter will feature an in-depth look at the latest features that Google came out with in the past 12 months," Ben adds. They are very useful tools that let you alter the data. A demonstration will be given about this topic, which includes a link to the Google Sheet template that people are able to download. In addition, there will be a live discussion regarding the subject. "I utilize the newsletters to communicate information about dates and times and also use the Google Meet link for the live event."
When asked concerning the future, Ben imagines that membership could become a major focus of his company. "I obviously wish to attract more people in because I want membership to be my primary product," he says. "I can offer an online library that is free content which you then are able to become a premium member. You can also be member of my team, and gain access to more content."
0.WZ6fYkdbv3adzawtsO Simulating a game of Chess with Google Sheets
The author also describes how the newsletter has offered services and ads in his newsletter but he aims to end this practice "if I could increase the amount of subscribers sufficient, it would be nice to cut out the other things. There's a couple of small areas to work on but growing the number of members is crucial. "
He points out that there are several ways to broaden his offering. "I've come up with a few ideas at the moment and I'm thinking of improving the process in delivering members these events live and also have initiatives that will draw members into the service in the next year. The service itself will develop. I'm not sure it'll be radically different however we'll likely be doing things live."
He's also stating that he'd like to come up with a more effective method for members to talk about their data-related issues they're working on and what they'd like to solve for the future "That could be via 'office hours' or an easier method to communicate inquiries" as long as the method is sustainable and beneficial for everyone involved.
Ben states that, in the present, his interaction with his friends and family is done through email newsletters. "I think it's best if individuals respond by sending a message that reads 'Hi, let me know what you're currently working on' - I find this approach to be easy to control.
He was known to facilitate forum discussions and "cohort classes" that involved working through Google Sheets issues online together in a group. "We had two of these in 2021 during a time when Google Sheets were in fashion. The experience was great however it was very stress-inducing for all five months - it was like a 'firehose of questions. It's the first time that I've been in such a 'group' but I'm concerned that after turning it on, I can't truly turn off. I'd like to think this through, how can achieve this with a long-term perspective?
"I wasn't even promising performances live when I initially began. I was thinking, 'Just launch and see what the reception will be. Check if I like making it work before I keep making promises all the time. It's working very well! The owner is interested in the addition of live events "They're fun and the attendees gain lots of value out of the sessions. Let's see how it goes!"
Ben hosting the Zoom sessions for his participants
"Right now I'm teaching topics: I'll pick a topic and then we'll go over it in the live lecture," he continues. In the course with cohorts, the format was more open-forum "People would come in to ask, 'Here's the formula I'm having trouble understanding I'm having trouble understanding,' and we'd tackle the topic live. the audience could view. This is something we'll be this year. It's a great way for people to be involved."
In the final analysis Ben is of the opinion that a Discord Q&A forum is definitely an option, however Ben says "I would like to be certain that I'm able to complete the job in a manner that doesn't overburden me." The discussion suggests Ben has begun his journey to establish an ongoing and solid friendship with his community. It is our opinion that maintaining relationships are crucial to the longevity of a community membership "Little step - let's add more as time goes by!" he smiles.
More information
Ben Collins is an educator as well as a journalist, programmer and co-founder of The Collins School of Data. Ben Collins creates online classes and writes about Google's Workspace tools. My primary focus is on the analysis of data and automating it by using Google Sheets as well as Apps Script.
Ben L Collins' website
He loves building lightweight and data-driven applications for be part of the Google stack. These include: Google Sheets, Looker Studio, Google Apps Script, Forms, Docs, Gmail and much more. To learn more, visit benlcollins.com.
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