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![Google Sheets expert Ben L Collins](https://alwaysoutsource.com/content/images/2025/02/bencollins-portrait-8f8f426a-1-2-1.jpg)
"I worked as an accountant for eight years and worked with Microsoft Excel every day for prolonged periods of time." The course starts in Google Sheets and Apps Script an instructor with several years of expertise Ben L Collins. "Almost every single task was done within Excel however I did not possess prior knowledge. Although I'm a programer however, I hadn't completed anything which required spreadsheets.
"Pretty in the early days of my profession as a professional my boss demanded that I do various things using Excel"Combine using tables' and so on. Yet, I was doing all of it with the fingers!" The boss provided him with formulas for simplifying things, and Ben instantly recognized that the main capability required for any person employed in finance is how to alter the data.
"The people who possess the capacity to pull off such feats will be miles over the rest of us that appear to be in an unorganized mess." Ben continues. I thought "Right. I'll need to find out the things I'm already aware of and I came across a variety of websites like mrexcel.com and chandoo.org These are the exact sites that performed the exact thing that I'm currently doing making use of Excel fifteen minutes ago."
The more Ben was able to look over worksheets and formulas the more enthralled he became: "It was this rabbit tunnel that appeared to go further and farther." Ben was aware that the programming skills he learned during his time at college could be utilized in conjunction with other programming languages which could incorporate into databases, like VBA.
Through over the span of his career as an accountant has begun to become more and more involved in technological advancements as opposed to the financial or accounting. "After more than eight years being in this field, I realized that "I've achieved enough in order to be able to do enough!. I was unsure of where to take the next step. One of my first ideas was to alter my career direction in order to be a developer." Ben tells me.
Ben L Collins speaking in a special event
He took a few classes prior to making applications for jobs. "It did not go over well but I was working on my own website and writing essays. My first piece of content was written using Google Sheets and were those which could be found through Google Search." These articles led to numerous clients searching to hire and pay for freelance work.
"In 2014 and 2015. In 2014 as well as the year 2015 saw an inbound flow of people asking "Hey are you willing to help me with my dashboard with spreadsheets?' or "Can you look at my personal spreadsheets and see if they are acceptable for use by my business? and help me figure out ways to improve my formulas? ? '."
The entire project consisted from Excel, Google Sheets, SQL and Tableau. "It was not really anything to be done, but it was an indicator that I was able to say"Maybe there's something in this. Perhaps it's possible to work as a freelancer instead of returning to the job I previously worked in . I never thought of returning to the accounting job!" Ben smiles. "I truly enjoy keeping at the forefront of new technological advancements and advances in research."
Goodbye accounting, hello education
The website of the Education General Assembly was just a venture that was just beginning and had plans to launch courses specifically designed for researchers and developers. "They have just launched its Data Analysis part-time program. Because I took classes at their institute, I was an instructor for some of their classes designed for developers, I developed an outstanding relationship with the group at the time. They launched their Data course in the spring of 2009 and needed instructors. It was a class that consisted of three classes: Excel, SQL and Tableau," Ben continues. "I realized, 'Hey!' it's exactly my job over the last eight years. ! '." He was able to pass the test, and then be named and instructed on the course a variety of times throughout the year.
"That led me to teach later on," Ben recalls. "I'd been in the college classrooms as a tutor for the youngsters while I was at the end of the academic year." He started incorporating the corporate aspect in online courses. This included lessons and tutorials. "As I gained an audience in 2017, I made the decision to create my own online course to investigate the possibilities."
![A course on the Query function in Google Sheets](https://alwaysoutsource.com/content/images/2025/02/benlcollins-googlesheets-bf916ba3-2-1.jpeg)
) A course on how queries work within Google Sheets
The course was a complete victory and the students took pleasure in the course. The experience was so enjoyable that it prompted Ben to create a second class. "I used Teachable the site I discovered on Teachable since I was looking for a way to create a rapport with my students in addition to managing those relationships rather than leaving it up to an online marketplace similar in size to Udemy."
I was inspired to conduct some research and realized the name that was being mentioned in the search results was a person responsible for the publication on the field of technology known as Stratechery. Ben Thompson. Ben Thompson is the OG!" Ben has a wonderful time. "I am a member of several accounts on behalf of myself in order to see what other users like Flowing Data and Craig Mod had been doing the same process." Ben is a subscriber to the monthly newsletter for free charge since he was an infant and I was awestruck by the method they used to establish their membership-based company. I was thinking to myself "I would like my business to be exactly like the one they use.'. It was easy to join and I was able to think"I'd be amazed with the feeling of becoming an active participant.'
A sustainable manner
As a matter of fact, Ben's subscription service offers top-quality (or "gated") data which is hosted on WordPress as well as in addition to the electronic newsletter that is delivered by emails through Kit (formerly ConvertKit). This article will provide more information about the service. The subscription service is based on Google Sheets and includes information on new features in the software and ways to get the most out of it.
"The coming newsletter will be a comprehensive look at several of the features which Google has launched during the calendar of previous years." Ben adds. This is a very useful feature for manipulating information. The demonstration is provided in this article, along with links to the Google Sheet template that people might download. In addition, the writer provides online discussion about the subject. "I use newsletters to communicate details about dates and times in addition to share details about the Google Meet link for the live meeting."
When asked about the future of his business, Ben thinks membership could be the most important source of earnings for his company. "I am sure I would like to get new members, as I'd like to see membership as the primary item for our company," he says. "I am able to provide archives at no cost which you can then sign up as a premium member and aid me in my efforts and learn more about."
![](https://alwaysoutsource.com/content/images/2025/02/benlcollins-chess-efb3ed4e-1.gif)
Exercise in the game of Chess simplified with the help of Google Sheets
He said he was in the capacity to provide consulting services, in addition to placing ads in the publication, but he would like to end that "if I am able to build enough audience, it would be ideal to eliminate any other thing. There's a couple of small things to be improved, but growing the number of individuals who sign-up for the newsletter is vital. "
He says he's thought of various ideas for how to increase the range of services offered. "I've thought of some thoughts on how we can improve the efficiency of delivering live events for customers and also plans to introduce members for the next calendar year. The software itself will be evolving. It won't alter drastically However, we'll be able to keep live streaming."
He's stated he'd like to find ways to allow members to speak about the current issues they're engaged in and the issues they'd like to tackle within the next few months "That may happen through "office hours' or an enhanced approach to answering questions" as long as they're done in a long-term, sustainable manner for everyone that are involved.
Ben declares that, at present, his only contact with his followers is by email. "I am really hoping for individuals to communicate to me by sending me and an email that reads"Hey, let me know what are you currently making progress with'. I like this because it's easy to manage.
Forum chats will be available together with "cohort instruction" that will allow users to tackle Google Sheets issues online together in smaller groups. "We have two in 2021 ,""" the man stated. Google Sheets were the talk in the city. The course was highly successful, however, it also was very stressful at the start of the five weeks as participants were in their own "firehose" of inquiries. I've had a couple of times when I've attempted this course independently, and this is the reason I'm afraid that when I've turned on my computer there will be no way to shut it down completely. It's something I'd like to think about, but how can accomplish this if I look over the long term?
"I was unsure about live streaming, so I was first thinking "Just stream it live and observe what happens. Be sure that I'm comfortable using it before I commit every day.' It's actually working! The host is keen to add live workshops "They're entertaining and participants benefit a lot of these workshops. Let's see how it goes!"
![Ben hosting a Zoom session for his members](https://alwaysoutsource.com/content/images/2025/02/benlcollins-zoom-03747bec-2-1.jpg)
Ben runs Zoom sessions for clients of his.
"Right this moment, I'm offering opportunities to students such as picking subjects that we'll talk about during live discussions," he continues. But in classes where students were in groups it was more of an open-forum "People came in to seek out information, "Hey, this is my concern.' It was then discussed the issue in real time, and the other students were allowed to watch. The topic will be examined over the course of the year. This is a great opportunity to motivate the people close to you to participate."
The writer concludes that a Q&A-style forum on Discord may be a feasible option, but Ben says that "I just want to be confident that I'm capable of doing this in a way that doesn't overwhelm me." There's a feeling that Ben is trying to build the most long-lasting, durable and lasting bond within his community. It is our opinion that maintaining relationships over the course that is adequate to provide a successful experience "Little move - we'll grow in size as time goes in the future!" The guy smiles.
Additional details
Ben Collins is an educator and author, programmers as well as the founder of The Collins School of Data. Ben is the author of online training courses for teachers as well as writes about the Google Workspace tools. My primary focus is the analysis of data, and making it easier to process using Google Sheets as well as Apps script.
![Ben L Collins website](https://alwaysoutsource.com/content/images/2025/02/benlcollins-website-d7af8c67-2-1.jpg)
Ben L Collins' website
He enjoys creating light-weight apps with data that can be integrated with the google's Google stack. These include: Google Sheets, Looker Studio, Google Apps Script, Forms, Docs, Gmail, etc. For more details, go to benlcollins.com.
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