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"I was an accountant for eight years, using Microsoft Excel every day for many hours," commences Google Sheets as well as Apps Script's professional teacher Ben L Collins. "Almost everything I did on used Excel but I did not possess a formal education. I'd coded, but had not done anything that was related to spreadsheets.
"Pretty during the very beginning of my first week at work, I was being asked by my boss me to accomplish a few things with Excel for example, 'Combine tables'. but I was doing everything by hand!" His boss showed his formulas in order to save time and Ben realized it was one of the most important capabilities required for any professional in finance is the ability to work on information.
"The people who have the ability to do this will outdo everyone else who must struggle through,"" Ben continues. I was thinking "Right it's time to really develop the abilities I've got and stumbled across a bunch of websites online including mrexcel.com as well as chandoo.org The websites did precisely what I am doing now, only using Excel fifteen years ago."
The more Ben was able to look at formulas and spreadsheets, more intrigued he was: "It was this rabbit hole that was getting ever deeper." Ben was able to see that a part of his programming knowledge during his school years was able to be merged with other programming languages that work with databases such as VBA.
Over the course of his professional life as a accountant, he actually more in love with technological advancements as opposed to the field of finance and accounting. "After more than eight years working I decided that I've had enough I'm done and I'm finished!. I wasn't sure what my next steps however, one of my first ideas was to switch careers and pursue a career as an engineer." Ben tells me.
HTML1 Ben L Collins speaking in an evening function
He took a couple of classes, and began applying for work. "It took me a short time to leave, however I created my own site and also began writing articles. The first articles I wrote were about Google Sheets and were those which Google added to it's Search." It led to a number of clients asking for and paid freelance positions.
"In 2014 and 2015, we had an outbound stream of customers seeking help, "Hey, could I be assisted in constructing the dashboard with spreadsheets? or "Can you go through my Excel spreadsheets on behalf of the business and help me figure out how to improve these formulas? ? '."
The project required Excel, Google Sheets, SQL as well as Tableau. "It isn't much work however it gave me an opportunity to consider "Maybe there's something in this. You could become an independent contractor instead of returning to my previous job . I'd rather not go back into an accounting job!" Ben smiles. "I am determined to keep working to develop technological advancement and innovating."
Goodbye accounting, hello education
The website for education General Assembly was just a start-up and it was offering classes specifically designed for data analysts as well as developers. "They are launching an online program for data analysis that was part-time. Since I had taken a class in their program as part of one of their courses for developers, I developed an existing relationship with the people who were at the time. The time was when they had their first launch of the Data course, it was in 2015 They were in search of instructors. The class was comprised of Excel, SQL and Tableau," Ben continues. "I was thinking, 'This is exactly what I've been doing since I was eight ! '." He went through the process of being interviewed to obtain the position. Also, he was an instructor on several occasions in 2015.
"That inspired me to return to teaching," Ben recalls. "I'd taught in the college setting and as a tutor for the youngsters at the end of my senior year." He began adding in some corporate training into his online offerings including tutorials and courses. "As I began to increase the number of people interested in learning more about what I do I decided to develop my own online course to see if it was a good idea."
) A course on the Google Query feature within Sheets
The course was well-loved and appreciated thoroughly - enough to motivate Ben to design a new course. "I utilized a platform known as Teachable because I wanted to build a relationship immediately with my students and maintain that relationship myself instead of transferring it onto a marketplace, such as Udemy."
I was compelled to do some research and the name that kept popping up was the one who manages the tech journal Stratechery. Ben Thompson. Ben Thompson is known as"the OG!" Ben is laughing. "I signed up for some accounts on my own, in order to learn how users such as Flowing Data and Craig Mod did the same." Ben received their free newsletter from the time he was a child and I was curious about what they were doing to create their membership-based company. I thought "I want mine to look like theirs.'. I was quite impressed with the process of signing up. It it was easy and quick - I thought"I'm in need of the membership feeling..'
Moving forward in a sustainable manner
In order to give a general overview of Ben's subscription service is currently comprised of top-quality (or "gated") material which are hosted on WordPress as well as an electronic newsletter that is distributed via emails using Kit (formerly ConvertKit). As for the content itself, it is based around Google Sheets - including products upgrades, features and more - as well as tips for getting the most value from this application.
"The coming newsletter will be an in-depth look at certain innovative features that Google introduced at the end of last year's calendar year." Ben adds. These are extremely useful features that let you alter the data. The tutorial will be on this, along with a link to Google Sheet, a Google Sheet template that people can download. Also, live discussion on the subject. "I use the newsletters to share details regarding times and also to share the Google Meet link for the live meetings."
If asked about his future plans include, Ben imagines that membership is the primary focus of his business. "I certainly want to get new members on board because I'd prefer this membership to become my sole source of income," he says. "I have the ability to provide archived content for free but you also have the option to become the professional member. This can help me and get more content."
Z6fYkdbv3adzawtsO playing a game of Chess by using Google Sheets
He says he was once able to offer consultations or even put ads on his website, but is now trying to eliminate this habit "if I can to reach a large audience enough that it is possible to remove the rest of the items. There are a few small areas to be refocused on, however increasing the number of subscribers is vital. "
It's possible to consider different avenues of the expansion of his service. "I've been thinking about how I'd like to be more efficient in broadcasting these live events as well as we've put together some initiatives that will help attract additional members during the coming year. The streaming service is expected to evolve. It's not likely to change too the way we do things, however, we'll broadcast live content."
He also mentions that he'd love to find a better way for members to communicate about the type of issues they're dealing with as well as the questions they'd like to address at some point in the future "That may be possible by way of "office hours' or the best way for them to submit queries" to the extent that it's sustainable and beneficial for everyone that is involved.
Ben affirms that currently, the only interaction with his followers is conducted through emails. "I would suggest you to send me a message saying "Hey please tell me what you're working on'. This is a great idea because it's very easy to record.
Forum chats were planned as well as "cohort course" in which participants worked on Google Sheets issues online together in a group. "We attended two of them in 2021, while Google Sheets were the talk in the city. It was a great experience however it was extremely intense for the first few weeks It was like the "firehose of questions. This was my first time being a part of a class but, and I'm worried that once I switch on the device, it'll not be possible to turn it off. This is something I'd like think through, how can I manage it with an eye on the long future?
"I did not have live sessions before I started because I was thinking"Just perform it live and see how people respond. Make sure I am enjoying the process, prior to committing to doing everything. This is going well! Owner is interested in having live sessions "They're fun and participants benefit from these sessions. It's going be fascinating to and we'll see how it goes!"
HTML0Ben hosts an online meeting along with his guests
"Right right now I'm presenting topics to students: I'll pick a topic and we'll cover that for the live lesson," he continues. In the course for cohorts, it was more an open-ended discussion "People were in the room to say, "Hey, there's some formula that's confusing me." It was a discussion live, with others would observe. This topic will be addressed over the course of the year. It's a great chance for people to be engaged."
In conclusion, Ben believes the possibility of the Q&A forum could be possible, but Ben says: "I just want to ensure that I'm doing it in a manner that isn't taking over my life." This seems to suggest that Ben is already working towards establishing the longest-lasting and long-lasting bond with his local community. Maintaining your connection is crucial for a long-lasting community membership "Little step: Let's build more of it as time goes on!" He smiles.
More information
Ben Collins is an educator as well as an author, developer and director for The Collins School of Data. Ben Collins creates online classes and writes about Google's Workspace tools. My primary focus is the analysis of data along with automation employing Google Sheets along with Apps Script.
Ben L Collins' website
He loves creating lightweight programs that use data to use his Google stack. It includes Google Sheets, Looker Studio, Google Apps Script, Forms, Docs, Gmail and a host of others. For more information visit benlcollins.com.
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