I recently gave an interview for a blog regarding my Excel journey. Here are some snippets from that Blog.
Q. Tell us a little bit about the journey to creating an Excel-based business.
It started when I got a job at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). It became fairly apparent early on that I was adept at automating things. (Now, I think this just comes from me being fairly lazy because I realized pretty early on that Excel can do a lot of the heavy lifting.) Once I automated a few processes for PwC, they gave me a whole heap of processes to automate. Eventually, I went and worked for some investment banks where I was dealing with very large amounts of data. I was able to increase my knowledge of how to manage large data sets with very limited resources.
I came back to Australia and started my website out of love and as a hobby. It wasn’t my intention to start a business. I just wanted to give something back to the communities that have given me so much.
Q. I was struck by something else you said early on about the sense of gratitude you had for the people who helped you. On your website, you write about how, in giving, you receive.
I often had time on my hands at work, and I would solve Excel problems online in these large online communities. I knew I was an Excel enthusiast because I’d do it at work and then when I got home. I’d be using Excel up until midnight quite frequently for months and years on end.
You think about how the people you’re helping are helping you. You want to answer the question in the quickest way you possibly can, but you’re also thinking, ‘Is this the best way to answer this question?’ So by giving people the information they’re requesting, they’re actually giving you something as well. They’re giving you an improved skill set. Once I realized that, I understood this was a two-way street.
You can read the entire Smallman interview here.
