How To Make Money From Excel
CAN YOU MAKE A CAREER FROM YOUR EXCEL SKILLS?
If you’ve spent time building your Excel / Excel VBA skills, you might be wondering how Excel could push your career forward. How could you monetise your Excel skills? Could you create a part-time income from Excel VBA development, or could you even build a business around Excel? Welcome to How To Make Money From Excel!
Download the exercise files from the series here.
Watch the playlist (including the livestreams) on YouTube here.
Download the exercise files from the series here.
Watch the playlist (including the livestreams) on YouTube here.
In this series, I share my experience of 10 years building a business around Excel VBA. To help you better understand how Excel can push forward your career, we will explore 7 topics, across a 14-day period, from marketing your Excel skills to choosing the right people to work with and scaling a micro-sized business.
Each topic is supported by a static video and a livestream for you to interact with Chris and video viewers and discuss each topic, live! Yes, this 14-day course is structured around alternating livestreams (7) and static video (7) releases. But there is more: I have prepared forms for you to complete (naturally, these are Excel-based), one for each topic, to force you to commit some of your ideas to paper, which makes it more likely you’ll take action and move towards monetising your Excel skills.
Video 1 – Do I Need To Know Everything In Excel?
I argue that too many people spend too much time trying to learn ‘all’ of Excel. I have two problems with this: first – it’s impossible to master every function in Excel, such is the power and complexity of the software; second, mastering just one area of Excel is more than enough to start to make money from Excel. In fact, it can be counter-productive to know too much: you want to become the go-to guy not just for Excel, but for a particular problem related to its usage.
In the video, I point out five areas that you could focus on to push your career forward using Excel. The truth is, I have not mastered all five of these. In fact, I don’t think I have ‘mastered’ any, but I have developed competence in 3-4. Moreover, I understand that, as we will learn through this course, there are more important skills at play than formulae and coding. Yes, it’s not just about the technical stuff!
Make sure you download the support file and start thinking about which of these five areas could help you start monetising your Excel skills. See you in tomorrow’s livestream!
Video 2 – How Should I Market My Excel Skills?
No matter how ‘good’ you are at Excel, you have to be able to market yourself in order to freelance successfully or even grow a small business. In this video, I outline 5 things that you have to do in order to start making money out of your Excel / Excel VBA skills.
1) Be The Excel Guy
Tell people you love solving problems in Excel. Start close to home; in fact, start literally in your home by telling your family or housemates that if they have an Excel problem, they should come to you. Then work from there!
Tell people you love solving problems in Excel. Start close to home; in fact, start literally in your home by telling your family or housemates that if they have an Excel problem, they should come to you. Then work from there!
2) Create Online Content
Yes, you have to be creating free content. It does not have to be video (podcasts are a big growth area at the moment) and the content does not have to be ‘polished’ – you could document the process of starting as an Excel freelancer on your smartphone, for example.
Yes, you have to be creating free content. It does not have to be video (podcasts are a big growth area at the moment) and the content does not have to be ‘polished’ – you could document the process of starting as an Excel freelancer on your smartphone, for example.
3) Overdeliver On a Project
If you can complete the first two steps and deploy some patience, enquiries will follow. Yes, a project! This is the most important project you have ever done; make sure you complete it to the best of your ability and that your client is happy.
If you can complete the first two steps and deploy some patience, enquiries will follow. Yes, a project! This is the most important project you have ever done; make sure you complete it to the best of your ability and that your client is happy.
4) Promote Your Success
Now is the time to tell the world about your Excel project (3). Can you get shareable feedback (if not, why not?) from the client to add realism? Disseminate on the platform you have already established, however modest it may be at present. Tell anybody else who will listen, too!
Now is the time to tell the world about your Excel project (3). Can you get shareable feedback (if not, why not?) from the client to add realism? Disseminate on the platform you have already established, however modest it may be at present. Tell anybody else who will listen, too!
5) Be Patient And Strategic
This is going to take time and you need to have a strategy for dealing with tough times and negative emotions. If you can deploy patience and take a strategic perspective, however, the rewards are significant. Good luck!
This is going to take time and you need to have a strategy for dealing with tough times and negative emotions. If you can deploy patience and take a strategic perspective, however, the rewards are significant. Good luck!
Video 3 – How To Manage A First Client Meeting?
A prospective client meeting can be nerve-wracking! In this video, I outline 5 points to help you make your first client meeting a success.
1) Be Nice
Unfashionable though it might be in the current business and political climate, being nice is important. In fact, I believe you only have to do two things in business: be competent and be good to be around.
Unfashionable though it might be in the current business and political climate, being nice is important. In fact, I believe you only have to do two things in business: be competent and be good to be around.
2) It’s Not About You
Yes, it’s great to have a client meeting! But the only way you can succeed from now is to convince the client that the project is about them. Have at least some questions prepared.
Yes, it’s great to have a client meeting! But the only way you can succeed from now is to convince the client that the project is about them. Have at least some questions prepared.
3) Translate To Techniques
Probably the most difficult part of a prospective client meeting is live translation: the process of understanding what the customer tells you and matching it to available Excel techniques (that you can actually use!) It’s tricky, but it gets better with experience.
Probably the most difficult part of a prospective client meeting is live translation: the process of understanding what the customer tells you and matching it to available Excel techniques (that you can actually use!) It’s tricky, but it gets better with experience.
4) Technical Stuff Doesn’t Matter
Yes, we love VBA and the host of other cool functions that Excel offers, but your client probably is not interested. Focus on how the techniques save time, money and stress for their business.
Yes, we love VBA and the host of other cool functions that Excel offers, but your client probably is not interested. Focus on how the techniques save time, money and stress for their business.
5) Leave Costings Until The End
Know your costing strategy; but, only bring up the subject when it is absolutely clear how the project will help the client organisation.
Know your costing strategy; but, only bring up the subject when it is absolutely clear how the project will help the client organisation.