Terms

Jan 31, 2025
Google Sheets expert Ben L Collins

"I worked as an accountant for eight years and worked with Microsoft Excel every day for many hours." commences Google Sheets and Apps Script an expert teacher Ben L Collins. "Almost everything I did was done using Excel however, I didn't have any background. I'd written code, but I'd not completed anything with spreadsheets.

"Pretty right at the start of my career the boss had asked me to complete a variety of stuff using Excel like 'Combine the tables" and so on. My problem was that I had to complete everything in a manual manner!" The manager showed him a few formulas that can assist in reducing time. Ben was able to see an aspect of fundamental capabilities of every profession in finance is the ability to modify data.

"The those who are able to do it really well are far ahead of us, who struggle," Ben continues. I thought, 'Right, I'm going to need to improve my capabilities.' I then looked through several websites on the internet including mrexcel.com along with chandoo.org These guys had the exact abilities as me currently, but using Excel about 15 years ago."

The more Ben worked on formulas and spreadsheets, more enthralled he got: "It was this rabbit hole that was just getting immersed in deeper and more." He realized that some of the knowledge he gained in his university days could be used in conjunction with other programming languages that deal with databases, such as VBA.

Through the course of his career as an accountant, he became increasingly interested in the field of technology as opposed to the accounting and finance. "After eight years of work, I thought, 'I've had enough to have enough!'. I didn't know what to do next however one of my first thoughts was to move into becoming a developer." Ben tells me.

It's called yWYQFjXiawUjOZ9 Ben L Collins speaking during an event.

He enrolled in a couple of courses and after which he began applying for jobs. "It did not really get any attention when I was in college, but I was building my own site and also producing articles. The first few content I created were in Google Sheets and they're the ones that got picked up by Google Search." It led to the emergence of clients asking for and paying the freelancer.

"In 2014 as well as in 2015, there was enough for inbound calls to ask, "Hey, could you assist me in creating the dashboard using sheets?' or "Can you go through my spreadsheets for our company and help me find how to improve the formulas? ? '."

The work involved Excel, Google Sheets, SQL and Tableau. "It isn't really work at all but it was enough of an opportunity to consider"Maybe there's something that can be discovered in this article. There is a possibility for you to be a freelancer, rather than returning to the old job . I don't want to go back to the accounting department!" Ben smiles. "I would like to stay ahead of the curve in technological advancement and innovating."

Goodbye accounting, hello education

The website for education General Assembly was just a company that was just starting and had plans to launch training programs for developers as well as data analysts. "They created an online data analysis program that was part-time. Since I had been in a class as a student in one of their programs for programmers and had a good relationship with their staff when they launched the program. The first time they launched the data course was when they began recruiting instructors. The course included Excel, SQL and Tableau," Ben continues. "I told myself, 'Hey, that's exactly what I've been doing since I was eight years old. ! '." He submitted his application, and was offered the post and also taught the course a couple of times throughout 2015.

"That made me want to start teaching again," Ben recalls. "I'd taught in the college level as a mentor to young students as I was finishing my year." He added business training to the online course, as well as the sale of tutorials and classes. "As I started to grow an audience, in 2017 I figured I'd create my own online course and test the waters."

A course on the Query function in Google Sheets

) A course on the Query function in Google Sheets

The course's teaching was viewed quite well - well enough to encourage Ben to launch a second course. "I used a platform called Teachable because I wanted to build a relationship immediately with my viewers and be able to manage the relationship, rather than turning it over to an online marketplace like Udemy."

I did some searching and the name that kept coming to my mind was that of the man who is the editor of the tech news magazine Stratechery, Ben Thompson. Ben Thompson is known as the OG!" Ben smiles. "I had signed up for several memberships to check out how other members like Flowing Data and Craig Mod has done the same." Ben was reading their newsletters for a long time and was fascinated by the methods they'd used to create their membership company. I thought "I want mine to have similar experience.'. I was amazed by the fact that the ease of signing for and simple to sign up - I was thinking"I would like to have that same experience as a member..'

Going forward in a sustainable manner

For an overview, Ben's subscription service currently consists of premium (or "gated") information on WordPress and a premium email newsletter that is sent via email using Kit (formerly ConvertKit). In terms of details, it's built on Google Sheets that includes new functions for the product, as well as new features and ways to make the most from it.

"The following newsletter offers deep into several of the latest features that Google has introduced during the previous year's season." Ben adds. They're extremely useful tools to manipulate data, so there'll be a tutorial about which will include a link to the Google Sheet template that people are able to download. In addition, the live session about this. "I use the newsletters to share information about the session and also to provide my Google Meet link for the live sessions."

When asked about the direction that the future holds for him, Ben believes that membership will turn into the primary focus of his company. "I sure would like to draw more people in since I'd like my membership to be the main service," he says. "I can provide the archive of my content the cost of a subscription. After that, you can become a pro member and be a part of my team and gain more details."

0.WZ6fYkdbv3adzawtsO Simulating a game of Chess using Google Sheets

He also explains the ways he previously offered consultation as well as publish advertisements in his newsletter. But, he's trying to move away from this: "if I can build the number of subscribers to become large enough, it'd be great to eliminate all of other items. There are a few minor concerns to work on However, growing the number of subscribers is key. "

He mentions that he's had diverse ideas of expanding his offerings. "I've thought about how I'd like to do better in broadcasting these live events We also have plans to attract members coming into the next year's event. The service itself will develop. It's not going to alter much, but there will be more things that live."

The member also suggests to find a more effective method for members to share their data issues they're tackling and challenges they'd like to address The solution could be "That could be via 'office hours' or perhaps a more effective method to ask questions" so long the method is done in an efficient and sustainable manner to everyone involved.

Ben confirms that, at the moment his interaction with his followers goes by email. "I actually encourage people to respond with a message saying, 'Hey, let me know what you're doing'. I like the concept because it's manageable.

He used to offer forum chats and "cohort courses" in which participants worked through Google Sheets issues online together as a group. "We completed two of these in 2021 while they were all the rage. The class was extremely successful however it was extremely stressful for the entire five weeks. It was like being a "firehose' of questions. It's been a while since I've done a community in this way, and because I'm apprehensive about when I turn it on, it's hard to shut off. I'd like to think it over and think about what I can do to make this work sustainably?

"I didn't have any live shows when I initially began, because I was thinking"Just launch, and see what the reception would be. Check to see if I like doing it, before I make promises all the time. This is working well! He seems keen to add live events "They're enjoyable and the audience benefits lots from these sessions. Let's see what happens!"

Ben hosting a Zoom session for his members

     Ben is hosting an online discussion with his participants    

"Right right now I'm delivering classes like: I'll pick one subject to teach and then be discussing it live in a conversation," he continues. When the class was based on groups, it was more of an open forum "People would come in to say, 'Hey there's an equation I'm not sure with.' We'd discuss the problem live while others would observe. This is something we'll consider over the course of the year. It's an excellent opportunity for all to be involved."

For a last thought Ben believes that there's a possibility that a Q&A forum is a possibility but he states: "I just want to make sure I'm equipped to manage the issue in a manner that isn't overwhelming me." It seems to suggest that Ben is on the road to building the longest-lasting and long-lasting friendship with his friends. The idea of sustaining relationships is essential to the success of participation "Little actions - we'll build it up over the course of time!" he smiles.

More details

Ben Collins is an educator author, designer, and co-founder of The Collins School of Data. Ben Collins develops online classes and writes on Google's Workspace tools. My focus is on the research and analysis of data and automation employing Google Sheets and Apps Script.

Ben L Collins website

     Ben L Collins' website    

He is a fan of building simple and data-driven programs that can be added to the Google stack. Google Sheets, Looker Studio, Google Apps Script, Forms, Docs, Gmail as well as other. For more details, visit benlcollins.com.

Article was posted on here