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Jan 31, 2025
Google Sheets expert Ben L Collins

"I worked as an accountant for the last 8 years, and I was able to utilize Microsoft Excel every day for long hours" begins Google Sheets and Applications Script expert teacher Ben L Collins. "Almost all my job was completed with Excel but I didn't have any Excel background. I had written some code but I had never used spreadsheets before.

"Pretty quite early in my career I was directed by my supervisor to complete several tasks using Excel as well as Excel "Combine these tables" and I completed everything by myself!" Manager explained to Ben some formulas that would cut down the time by a small amount. Ben instantly realized that the most important ability required by anyone in working in the field of finance is the ability to utilize the information.

"The those who have the capability to accomplish this feat will have far ahead of others who aren't," Ben continues. I was thinking "Right this moment, I'm likely to have to work on my abilities. Then, I looked through several websites including mrexcel.com and chandoo.org That's exactly what I've been doing using Excel in the past fifteen years."

The better Ben was able to comprehend the concepts of worksheets, equations and formulas, the more fascinated the student became "It was this rabbit tunnel that seemed to take one deep dark." He realized that some aspects of his programming training at colleges could be combined with other languages used in databases like VBA.

During the time of his professional occupation as a bookkeeper he was much more interested in the fields of technology and science in contrast to the accounting and finance. "After nearly eight years working, I realized that I had ample money to make a profession that I wanted to pursue. I wasn't sure what my next steps were, however my initial goal was to become an Engineer." Ben tells me.

Ben L Collins speaking during an evening party

He was a student in a couple of classes before he began to submit applications for positions. "It was not going as well as I had hoped, however during this time I launched my own web site, and composed pieces. My very first article was on Google Sheets that are the ones which are indexes by Google Search. Search." This led to a lot of client requests and work as a freelancer.

"In the years between the years 2014 and 2015, we witnessed a significant amount of outbound calls from clients asking"Hey Do you want to help me with designing my dashboard with spreadsheets and worksheets? Do you want to get the complete view of my business spreadsheets so that I can help me with discovering methods to enhance the formulas? ? '."

The task called for Excel as well as Excel, Google Sheets, SQL and Tableau. "It was not a huge amount of work, but it was a sign the need to think"Maybe it's a hint of that something is going on. Perhaps I'm working as freelancer rather than returning to my old job where I held before . It was never my plan to go back to accounting!" Ben smiles. "I wanted to persevere in my quest to learn and develop my technical capabilities."

Goodbye accounting, hello education

The education website General Assembly was just a launch and was offering training classes specifically for analysts of data. "They created the idea of a continuous data analysis course. If I've attended an instruction within their program at one of their programs designed specifically for developers I was in awe of the teachers who were in the room. They started the course with a focus on data which required instructors. The curriculum was Excel, SQL and Tableau," Ben continues. "I realized, this exactly what I've already been doing for the last eight years! '." Ben had the ability to finish the application process after which he was given the job and instructed on the course with a range of different ways in the year 2015.

"That inspired me to get to teach," Ben recalls. "I'd had a teaching position at the university level, in the form of a tutoring position for students throughout the course of my studies." He was able to include corporate training into the internet-based options, including classes as well as tutorials. "As I began to build audiences, in the year 2017 I decided to develop my own online training program to later learn what my results were."

A course on the Query function in Google Sheets

) A course on the Google query feature. Sheets

The class was extremely popular and the students enjoyed it so much that they were able to encourage Ben to develop a new class. "I used a site known as Teachable to build an enduring relationship to my students. I was looking to be the one who controls the relationship instead of leaving it to a market like Udemy. Udemy."

I did a search on a couple of names. One particular name that stuck out to me was that of the man who was the writer of the technology magazine called Stratechery, Ben Thompson. Ben Thompson is one of the OG!" Ben is happy. "I have signed up to multiple accounts, and I've seen what other companies like Flowing Data and Craig Mod were able to achieve this." Ben is a part of the newsletter for free cost for many months, and I wanted to know more about the process they did to develop their membership program. I thought to myself, "I want mine to receive the same benefits.'. I was awed with the ease of join and how straightforward it was to join. and I thought "I'd like that member experience.'

Making progress with a long-term perspective

To provide you with a sense of the context, Ben's membership package includes high-quality (or "gated") details which is available on WordPress as well as a monthly newsletter that is sent via email through Kit (formerly ConvertKit). It's based on Google Sheets with information on new features, updates and other aspects of the product along with tips for how to maximize the benefits of the service.

"The next newsletter will offer an in-depth look at the latest technological advances that Google is introducing in the last year." Ben adds. These are extremely useful tools that let you alter the information. The article will go over this and also the link that will take you to Google Sheet, a Google Sheet template available for users to download. Additionally, there'll be a live discussion online regarding the issue. "I regularly send out newsletters which inform all the public about dates and times, and Google Meet to link people to using the Google Meet link for the live events."

When asked what the prospects for his business in the future, Ben imagines that membership will become the basis of his business. "I definitely want to draw new members since I'd like to be able to offer membership as the only option" he states. "I already have an online library that contains contents for free. Then, you can sign up for a professional membership to aid me in finding additional information."

HTML0 A game similar to Chess which makes use of Google Sheets

The author says it's possible to offer consultation services, and even include advertisements within his monthly newsletter. The writer wants to conclude: "if I can build enough of an audience and put it in place I'd prefer to cut out the rest of it. There are some minor aspects to be focused on, but increasing the amount of customers is crucial. "

He's said he's looking into various options to expand his services. "I've thought about a couple of ideas about the current state of affairs and am thinking of the most effective job of hosting events live to our members. In addition, we're planning to bring participants to our next meeting. The software will be upgraded. There is no chance of changing significantly, however we'll do more live-time tasks."

The member also states the desire to find a way to speed up the process for members to speak with others about data issues they're dealing with and how they'd like to discuss with them on the issue, such as "That could be achieved via "office time" or a more efficient methods of making demands" in the event that the process is completed quickly and efficiently in a favorable way for everyone involved.

Ben claims that, the current communication with his followers is done by way of newsletters, which are electronic. "I truly would like for individuals to write me messages in the shape of "Hey I'd love to hear about the projects you're engaged in currently". It's simple to manage.

The guy was well-known for his discussion forums as well as "cohort classes" that saw participants work through Google Sheets questions online in the format of an online discussion forum. "We experienced two of these classes back in 2021 when they were the talk of the town. It was an extremely successful course. The course was, however, extremely difficult over five weeks. It was like a "firehose of questions. This was my first experience participating in a class but I'm worried that when I turn on the switch and turned off the light, I'll never have the ability to turn it off completely. It would be nice to think about it and find out how I can do this without causing any harm to the surrounding environment?

"I was not obligated to host live sessions at the time I started thinking"Just play around with it live and see what reaction it might get. Test if it's exciting to do this prior to making promises and promises.' It's working very good! He seems to be excited about adding live sessions "They're fun and everyone enjoys these sessions. It'll be fascinating to see how this pans out!"

Ben hosting a Zoom session for his members

Ben hosts the HTML0 Zoom session with his customers.

"Right at this point, I'm giving subjects like picking a topic, and then discuss it in the live lecture" the professor continues. Before, the lectures in groups were more of an open-forum "People would come in and inquire "Hey I've got a math equation I'm trying to understand.' This was debated in real time. It is possible to observe. The next time we consider taking part, we'll be thinking about it for next year. This is the ideal method for everyone to be involved."

To conclude, Ben is certain that his idea of having Discord Q&A forum is likely, but Ben declares that "I want to be certain that I'm able to complete the job in a way that doesn't leave me feeling overwhelmed." This message indicates that Ben has started with the goal of building the foundation of a long-lasting and ongoing relationship with his group. We believe that maintaining a good relationship with your group is crucial for the development of the members of an organization "Little small by little we'll develop slowly!" The man smiles.

Additional information

Ben Collins is an educator designer, writer and designer behind The Collins School of Data. He develops online courses and writes articles for the Google Workspace tools. My primary focus is the study of data as well as automating it through the use of Google Sheets and Apps Script.

Ben L Collins website

Ben L Collins' website

He loves creating applications which are simple, but powered by data, and can be integrated with Google's Google stack. The stack comprises Google Sheets, Looker Studio, Google Apps Script, Forms, Docs, Gmail and more. For more details visit benlcollins.com.

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