How do you feel about spreadsheets? Are you a fan or do they fill you with dread?

This week my guest on the podcast is Alison Pollecutt of Excel Confident. Alison believes that spreadsheets are a vital tool for any business owner and it's her mission to demystify spreadsheets for them. In this episode, we'll talk about how spreadsheets can really help your business. We'll cover how to get started, what you can do with them, and the different ways they can open up possibilities for you.

I've always used spreadsheets for keeping track of things, but Alison has shown me how I can use them even more effectively. No matter if you're already a fan of spreadsheets or not, Alison will share how you can learn more about your business by setting up some simple systems and keeping track.

• An introduction to herself and her businesses (02:04)
• The versatility of spreadsheets (02:43)
• Excel and Google Sheets are both forms of spreadsheets (05:33)
• Using a spreadsheet as a CRM  (06:33)
• Turning data into easily digestible visual information (08:24)
• Using spreadsheets to track things like your hours, mileage, expenses (11:00)
• Using spreadsheets to work out which channels to prioritise for social media (13:02)
• Using spreadsheets to plan your social media (14:36)
• How spreadsheets save time and reduce the feeling of overwhelm (15:10)
• Using spreadsheets to track stock for retail and wholesale (19:30)
• Using spreadsheets to help work out your pricing and margin for products (23:18)
• Using spreadsheets for stock control (25:40)
• Downloading data from platforms like Shopify into a spreadsheet (26:49)
• Empowering you to understand spreadsheets so you can build your own (29:29)
• How to get more confident with using spreadsheets (34:02)
• Her number one piece of advice on using spreadsheets (36:30)

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Welcome to the bring your product idea to life podcast.

2

This is the podcast for you if

you're getting started selling

3

products or if you'd like to

create your own product to sell.

4

I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product

creation coach and Amazon expert.

5

Every week I share friendly practical

advice as well as inspirational

6

stories from small businesses.

7

Let's get started.

8

Hello.

9

So today on the podcast, I'm

really excited to introduce

10

you to Alison Pollecutt.

11

So Alison believes that spreadsheets

are a vital tool for any business

12

owner and it's her mission to

demystify spreadsheets for them.

13

So this was a really interesting episode.

14

I came across Alison online and was

really fascinated by what she does and her

15

enthusiasm for all things spreadsheets.

16

And I invited her on to talk to us

about how using spreadsheets can

17

help a product's business, how you

can start using them, what kind of

18

things you can do on a spreadsheet.

19

And it really opened my eyes

genuinely to all the possibilities.

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Um, I love spreadsheets, but mainly

for just tracking things myself.

21

And Alison made me realize actually

I could be making them work for me

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a lot better than I am currently.

23

And, um, I'm really excited to actually

do some of the things that Alison

24

speaks about in this episode for myself.

25

So whether you are a fan of spreadsheets

or not, Alison explains the kind of

26

things that you can find out about

your business just by setting up some

27

systems and, you know, keeping track.

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And I think this is, you know,

really invaluable episode

29

for everyone to listen to.

30

And I honestly believe that even

if you only just start using one

31

spreadsheet to track one thing,

um, that would just be the start.

32

And then there'll be just,

you know, the opportunities

33

are going to open up for you.

34

Alison definitely had me convinced

that this is a really useful tool.

35

So I would love now to

introduce you to Alison.

36

Hi Alison, thank you

so much for being here.

37

Alison Pollecutt: Hi, thanks

very much for inviting me.

38

It's lovely to meet you.

39

Vicki Weinberg: Can we start if you please

give an introduction to yourself, your

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business and what it is that you do.

41

Alison Pollecutt: So yeah,

my name is Alison Pollecutt.

42

My business is called Excel Confident

and it's called that because I love

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spreadsheets and I would love all

business owners to feel confident using

44

spreadsheets because I think they're

an amazing tool for any business owner.

45

And what I do is I build

spreadsheets for people.

46

I help people where they're stuck with

spreadsheets, but I love the bit I

47

love most is actually showing people

how they can get the most out of a

48

spreadsheet and how it can really help

them in their business in ways they

49

probably don't even realize are possible.

50

Vicki Weinberg: Oh, thank you so much.

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Oh, I've got so many follow

up questions, Alison.

52

I'm wondering where to start.

53

Thank you.

54

There's so much we can talk about today.

55

So, let's start with...

56

Why you love spreadsheets so much.

57

Um, tell us, yeah, why you love them,

why you like using them and how you

58

feel they can help a small business.

59

And I know that's a big question.

60

Alison Pollecutt: So I think there

are, there are, you're right.

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It is a, it's a big question

because there are so many things

62

that spreadsheets can be used for.

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I mean, I kind of, I tell people they're

a bit like the Swiss army knife on your

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computer, they're incredibly versatile.

65

Um, and, and, you know, there are lots

of things that spreadsheets can be

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used for that I don't even go near.

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I don't do any kind of scientific

analysis or financial forecasting.

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They're great for stuff like that.

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If that's what you do, the bits that I

do most of, the bits that I love working

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with people on is helping, helping

people understand how spreadsheets are

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a brilliant tool to keep you organized.

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So, you know, for example, you've

got a whole list of things and the

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spreadsheet tells you the bits you

need to do rather than you having

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to eyeball it and say, oh, mass of

information, what am I looking for?

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But also things like metrics.

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So, um, I love, I love working with

people and showing them how they can get

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more out of the data in their business.

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So, you know, for example, the small

business owners will generate data,

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whether we use it or not, whether we

know much about it or not, but it's

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such a critical tool for allowing us

to be able to make good decisions.

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So, you know, if we've got data and we

can see what's going on in our businesses,

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you know, we can plan to do more of

the things that are working, but maybe

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do less of the things that are not or

tweak the things that are not to see

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whether we can help, uh, you know, if

they can help us and do things, you

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know, work things in a different way.

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So I think metrics particularly are

the things that I think are really

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powerful, and I love showing people

how they could take their data and you

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know, do something with it they didn't

even know was possible and easy even.

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So, um, yeah, organization and

metrics are my favorite things.

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I use them for all sorts of things though.

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Um, yeah, just hugely versatile tool.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's really interesting

because I think historically, I

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think spreadsheets have been thought

of something to track numbers on.

94

So maybe your finances, for example,

is probably a good, you know, I

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think, I don't know how long back

we're going, but I think that's

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all spreadsheets used to be.

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Certainly, weren't they just a

place to put your numbers and maybe

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track sales and that kind of thing.

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And I know that it's what you

can do now has grown so much.

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Um, it would be really interesting to

actually get some examples of things

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you can do and see on a spreadsheet,

because I think again, people

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think of spreadsheets as thinking

of columns and columns of numbers.

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What, um, are there, how else

can you view a spreadsheet

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other than a column of numbers?

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And what are some of the, what are some

of the things you can do and see on them?

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Alison Pollecutt: So, um, so actually, I

think probably one of the things that's

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useful to, to sort of, I guess, by way

of a little bit of an introduction,

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because you're absolutely right.

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People think, you know,

it's for your accounts.

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I'm not, I don't have an

accountancy background.

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While I do use spreadsheets for my

own numbers, it's not something I

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tend to work with people too much on.

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But, um, I'm just going to do a little

bit of a, uh, I suppose explain something

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because you talk about spreadsheets.

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My business is Excel Confident.

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Um, I've had a number of people where

they say, well, what's the difference

117

between Excel and a spreadsheet?

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And actually, Excel is a spreadsheet.

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So in the same way that you talk

about Hoover or Dyson, and they're

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a vacuum cleaner, Google Sheets and

Excel are both forms of spreadsheets.

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So basically, spreadsheet is the general

term, and Excel or Google Sheets,

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as an example, is the brand name, if

you want to think of it like that.

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Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

124

Alison Pollecutt: So if I talk

about excel or spreadsheets.

125

It's kind of the same thing.

126

It's just specific, um, specific piece of

software being a version of a spreadsheet.

127

So, um, so yeah, you're right.

128

So spreadsheets.

129

Yes, they kind of can look quite dull.

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They can look quite,

um, information heavy.

131

So you've got lots of data.

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You've got these columns of numbers.

133

And, oh, now, how do I make sense of that?

134

And I think that, uh, the way that

you can get real value out of it

135

is doing a number of things that

help you interpret those numbers.

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So when we talk organization,

for example, um ,let's, let's

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imagine, um, simple CRM system.

138

So I've, I've shown people how to

do this kind of thing, whereas a

139

small business owner, you get, you

talk to people, maybe there's an

140

opportunity for you to work with them.

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Um, maybe there's some, some

conversations that you're starting to

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have and you want to just track what's

going on with those potential leads.

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So you need to capture their data.

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You need to know who they are.

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You need to know how to, you

know, maybe like a mobile number,

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email address, that kind of thing.

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And then maybe you want to follow up in

a week or follow up again in three weeks.

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So whatever, whatever your, your kind

of, you know, your, your flow looks like.

149

And instead of having to sort

of put that information in a

150

spreadsheet and then think, oh, I've

just got to have a look at that.

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Which one, which one am I looking for?

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You can use the spreadsheet to

make those numbers a lot easier.

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So let's, let's make the ones that

were interesting to us pop out.

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So for example, you can use tools that

are called, for example, conditional

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formatting that will allow you to see,

uh, you know, if you know that you've

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got to follow people up by email, you

can put the data in and it will tell

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you which ones you need to follow up

today because it will highlight for you.

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Um, or you can, you can highlight the

ones that you're due to do tomorrow

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so you can see what's, what's coming

down the pipeline and what you need,

160

what you need to plan the timing for.

161

So it's not just data, it's making

the data easier to understand for

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you and making it a lot less, um,

I guess it's time consuming, just

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making it easier to pinpoint the

information that's important for you.

164

Um, you can filter that data so you can,

you know, if you've got a hundred rows,

165

but actually you're looking for one

particular piece of information, then

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you can take that information and you

can use a filter to narrow it down to

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only show the bits that are important.

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So again.

169

You're not overwhelming your brain

with all the information that's not

170

relevant to what you're looking for.

171

It makes it easier to understand.

172

Um, but then with the metric side

of it, you can take the, again, that

173

data, and I like to talk about it

as turning data into information.

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So data is, is, you know, you can't

really look at it and get any sense

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of it because often there's a lot of

it and it looks a little overwhelming.

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But as soon as you take that and you turn

it into to, uh, graphs so that you can

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see maybe progress over time, what your

sales look like over time, uh, you know,

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those kinds of things where you're turning

it into something that's a picture and

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that it shows you something that's a lot

easier to see visually, then that's the

180

kind of, uh, that's the kind of power

that you get from the spreadsheet..

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Showing you the information, but

then actually allowing you to turn

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it into something that's meaningful.

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And I like to, to show people how you

can set things up so that, you know,

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this, this week you've got your data that

you've recorded, it turns it into a graph.

185

And then as you add more information

to it, maybe you're downloading it from

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your, from a website, if it's a product

sales, for example or you're just adding

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manually your, your leads, your potential,

potential opportunities on there, then you

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don't have to sort of keep thinking, oh,

right, I've got to put that in the graph.

189

We're going to put that in the graph.

190

You set it up in such a way

that it will do it for you.

191

And once it's done, once it's

there, once it's in place it just

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kind of makes your life easy.

193

So, instead of spending a lot of

time working out how to make, how to

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wrangle that data into a shape that

helps you to, to see what's going on,

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you don't have to wrangle it at all.

196

It just does it for you, and you can spend

all that time doing the useful analysis.

197

And that's the, that's

the power of it, I think.

198

It's being able to take the information

that's there, take the data that's there.

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And using it to actually help

you make decisions and be

200

strategic within your business.

201

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

202

Thank you so much.

203

That really helps.

204

Because I think, and what I'm getting from

you, Alison, is that it feels like you

205

can really make spreadsheets work for you.

206

Alison Pollecutt: Absolutely.

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Vicki Weinberg: So yeah, it sounds like,

yeah, that they can be really fair.

208

I mean, I use spreadsheets.

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For lots of different things.

210

I've, I use Google sheets and although

mine are very basic, um, but I do

211

quite like putting things in boxes for

of organizing things, but I'm sure I

212

could be doing much cleverer things.

213

Um, but I guess it sounds like

a lot of it is in the setup.

214

So having your sheet set up so that

it works for you, um, to help us.

215

You know, get, get some ideas because

I'm sure that, I mean, I'm definitely

216

listening to this thinking, wow, there's

probably so much I could be doing, but

217

I just don't know what, are you able to

please give us some ideas, perhaps how

218

you use spreadsheets in your own business

or examples of clients you've worked with

219

and how they've used them just to give

some, you know, just to get some ideas

220

of how we could be using them as well.

221

Alison Pollecutt: Sure, absolutely.

222

So, um, one, there's a spreadsheet that I.

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It's pretty much open on

my computer all the time.

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Every day, first thing I do is go

in and I put in the hours that I've

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started, or the hours that I'm working,

or the hours that I've started working.

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So, as a self employed person, there

are lots of things I need to track,

227

so I need to, um, and this is all to

do with kind of, you know, the really

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exciting subject of self assessment.

229

Um, but I, I, I track my hours,

I track my mileage, uh, I track

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any meals that I'm claiming.

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So everything that I do, I usually do

it and think, what did I do yesterday?

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But everything I track.

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It helps me when I have to come

to, to, you know, work out what I'm

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claiming, work out how I'm, I'm doing

my self assessment because I'm doing

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it as I go along and it's really easy.

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And then the spreadsheet has all the

information in quite a detailed format.

237

But what then happens is at the

end of the year, it's really

238

easy to, to, to add all that up.

239

And it makes that job of, you

know, what does, what, what, what

240

do these numbers need to look

like when I do my self assessment?

241

It makes it really easy to

get them because I've tracked

242

them as I've gone along.

243

So that's something I do every day.

244

It's a little routine that just keeps me

on track and just makes my life easier

245

at that point of the year when I think,

right, I've got to do this piece of work.

246

Vicki Weinberg: You must really thank

yourself for doing that every year when

247

it comes to filing your self assessment.

248

Are you so proud of yourself?

249

Alison Pollecutt: I'm

very proud of myself.

250

Vicki Weinberg: Brilliant.

251

Alison Pollecutt: I mean, I will be

honest, there are things I do, and this

252

is a good example where I've probably.

253

Okay, let's, let's call it, I

probably over engineered it.

254

I mean it doesn't have to be complicated.

255

I've made it complicated.

256

The reason I've probably made it

more complicated than it needs

257

to be is actually because it's

like, it's testing my skills.

258

I think, oh, I wonder if I can do that.

259

And then, and then I, I try and do,

try and accomplish the difficult thing

260

purely because it, it makes me better

at what I do and helps me when I need

261

to do some work for other people.

262

But I am, I just make my life so

easy and I'm very grateful, yeah,

263

that future Alison will thank

me when I've done all that work.

264

So that's, that's probably the

first thing every morning that I

265

go in and I have a look at that.

266

But then the CRM system, so a simple

CRM, I've got that information and not

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only do I, I have details of people

I've spoken to when I need to follow

268

up with them, and it helps me by

highlighting that, but what I can also

269

see is where I found those people from.

270

So, for example, if I've met

someone networking, if it's somebody

271

that's made an enquiry via, say,

LinkedIn or other social media.

272

If it's been a referral, I track

all that information and what's

273

really useful about that is I can

then see where the, you know, which

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channels are actually working for me.

275

So, as an example, um,

networking is great.

276

You spend money on going to networking

meetings, but I can see my return

277

on investment there because I know

what I've spent on networking.

278

I also know the clients that have

come via networking referrals.

279

What I've also learned is that although

I post tips on Instagram, and I don't

280

spend a lot of time on Instagram to

be fair, but I don't really get any,

281

um, you know, nothing comes through

Instagram, probably because I'm

282

not prioritizing that as a channel.

283

So it's not somewhere that I'm going

to necessarily devote a lot of time.

284

So I can see this is great.

285

This is an opportunity to, you know, to

sort of, um, uh, grow my audience via

286

networking and also LinkedIn, for example.

287

But this over here is something that

I'm not going to at this stage in my,

288

in my business devote a lot of time to,

because I know that it's not necessarily,

289

um, you know, bringing me the return.

290

So that those kinds of

things are also very useful

291

I guess, again, from a strategic point

of view, understanding what works

292

good, works well for me in my business.

293

Um, I, uh, I use spreadsheets for social

media, so, you know, we're all, we're

294

all marketing ourselves, aren't we?

295

We're all sort of doing, whether

it's social media or blogs,

296

all those kind of things.

297

And I will have a, I have a

spreadsheet that shows me.

298

Uh, you know, what am I going to do

this week or for the next few weeks?

299

What have I written content for?

300

So where am I in the process?

301

Is it created?

302

Is it published?

303

Uh, I've got something that will show

me when I've published it, it will,

304

um, hide it for me so that it's no

longer visible and distracting because

305

I can filter that information out.

306

And I think the, the, probably

a lot of this is it ultimately,

307

I know it will save me time.

308

So you're right.

309

You talked about the setup and how that

can, uh, you know, that's really valuable.

310

And it is because I spend time making

these things work the way I need them to.

311

And then I can be freed up to spend the

time on the things that are important.

312

So I don't have to worry about, you know,

getting to the point where I need to

313

do my self assessment and think, well,

how many, how many miles did I drive in

314

the last year that are business miles?

315

Uh, oh, I've done my, you know.

316

I've done my, um, uh, social media.

317

I don't need to worry about that one.

318

That one's all set up and published.

319

I can, I can forget that and focus on

something else that's then the future,

320

the new thing I need to think about.

321

So it saves me time and it really

stops my brain getting overwhelmed

322

with all the things that we all

need to do on a regular basis.

323

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah,

I can totally see that.

324

And I also really liked what

you were saying about tracking

325

and where your leads come from.

326

So whether it's LinkedIn or Instagram or

networking and actually been able to say

327

I've spent this much on networking, but

I've got this many clients through it

328

because that's the sort of data where,

um, if you ever work with, I don't know,

329

maybe you work for a business coach or

maybe you sit down at the end of a year

330

and you review, how's my year been and

what's worked and what hasn't worked,

331

often most of us and I include myself

in this, just don't have that data.

332

If you said to me now, where do

you get most of your clients from?

333

I could tell you what I think, but I

don't have the data and I've listened

334

to you talk and I'm thinking that's so

valuable and actually that's something

335

I probably need to start doing because

yeah, it's some of, some of these

336

things, I guess they're very, well,

I'm not sure they're not simple.

337

I'm sure it obviously takes work to

set these sort of systems up, but

338

I guess once you have them, they're

probably fairly easy to maintain, but

339

they're just so valuable because often

there are things in our businesses

340

that all of us, I think don't know.

341

You know, there's probably plenty of

things you could ask me right now and I'd

342

go, um, and I'd have to spend half a day

you know, looking into things, whereas it

343

seems like tracking things in the moment.

344

I'm sure there is time involved in

the setup, but I can't imagine it

345

takes much time on a day to day basis

to just put things into a sheet.

346

Alison Pollecutt: No,

you're absolutely right.

347

And that is the key thing.

348

So the way that I tend to explain it

to people is that, you know, you, you

349

could, the numbers, the numbers are,

you know, every project's different.

350

The numbers are a bit arbitrary, but

you know, do you want to spend two hours

351

setting something up or even 30 minutes

setting something up and then spend you

352

know, 30 minutes every Monday morning,

putting your data in, or do you want

353

to spend five hours setting something

up and you spend two minutes every

354

Monday morning, putting your data in or

looking at your data, and then actually

355

all that extra time that you would have

been spending putting it all together.

356

You've got the time to

use it for the analysis.

357

But yeah, once it's set up,

just setting things up properly.

358

update it while it's fresh in your

mind, update it while it's not

359

something that you're kind of having

to go back over all your old diaries

360

and think, well, what did I do?

361

Where did I go?

362

What, what did I write?

363

What was that note that I've put in

and I can't understand it anymore.

364

So it does make life easier

for you in the future for sure.

365

And, um, you know, I think things

like, uh, things like having a, uh, a

366

way of tracking data in your business.

367

I tend to find that people

don't know what's possible.

368

I show them what's possible on a,

you know, with some simple examples

369

that work for their business.

370

And generally the people that I

work with, I tend to find that the

371

more they know, the more they get

excited about what it does for them.

372

And the more they want to

know I've done it myself.

373

You create something, you think,

oh, I just need this information.

374

And then the more you use it,

the more you think, oh, what

375

about that piece of information?

376

Oh, what about that piece?

377

And it, it just escalates

because it's so useful.

378

And you realize how it's benefiting

your decision making in your

379

business and you want more of it.

380

So I don't know, it makes me sad.

381

It makes me sound like I'm pushing

some kind of truck, but it is, it's

382

really exciting to think, wow, I

know things that I didn't know.

383

And It's, it's helping me to,

to, to be strategic and move

384

forward in a more structured way.

385

Vicki Weinberg: I think

that totally makes sense.

386

And yeah, I've got a few more questions.

387

I'll say, I'll ask the questions

that's on the tip of my tongue now,

388

and then I'm going to come back

and ask for some more examples.

389

So is something that, that maybe

you can do for people that people

390

can do as spreadsheets that is, if

that you have some sort of problem,

391

um, I'll give, I'll give an example.

392

I'm not saying you need to have

a solution for this, but say for

393

example, I have clients who send

stock into Amazon for them to fulfill.

394

And a big question I get is how much

stock should I send in and how often

395

that's the question people will ask me.

396

And, um, often I say, okay, well

you need to be tracking how much

397

you're selling and, you know,

what your sell free rate is and.

398

Things like that.

399

So taking that as an example, is that

the sort of thing where if someone

400

came to you and said, this is my

problem, they can set up a sheet

401

that will help them figure that out?

402

Is that the kind of thing you

can do with spreadsheets, I

403

guess, is what I'm trying to ask?

404

Alison Pollecutt: Absolutely.

405

I mean, I, funnily enough, I have, I have,

I have something that does exactly that.

406

I've solved, I've solved

the problem funnily enough.

407

No, it's, it's absolutely the kind of

thing a spreadsheet is helpful with.

408

Um, so I also, my main businesses is

with helping people with spreadsheets,

409

but I do run a business with a friend

where we have a craft business.

410

So we do sell physical product

and, you know, service based and

411

product based businesses have

some similarities, but they also

412

have some big differences as well.

413

And stock is quite a critical one.

414

So what I do in that business, because we

wholesale and, and retail, uh, I have a,

415

a, a a spreadsheet that shows me for all

of our different products with all the

416

different Q codes, it shows me, um, what,

uh, what the current stock levels are.

417

Uh, we sell via our website.

418

So every, every week I download

the information that that

419

shows us the sales on that.

420

I plug that into my spreadsheet.

421

And then it shows me what the, what the

current, what the new stock levels are.

422

But critically, because I'm collecting

that data over time, what I can then do

423

is on a weekly basis, I, I run a report

or I, you know, I run a, a query that

424

shows me what my last 12 weeks of, it

could be whatever, but my last 12 weeks

425

of stock usage were for each product.

426

And then balancing that against the

current stock, I can predict what might

427

be necessary for the next 12 weeks.

428

Now, obviously things like

seasonality, we have products that

429

are Christmas related, Easter related.

430

So, you know, it's not always, um, uh,

you know, the last 12 weeks doesn't

431

always accurately predict the next

12 weeks, but it certainly gives you

432

an idea of what's, what's useful.

433

And it starts to then, because you're

looking at a period of time, which

434

is quite, you know, 12 weeks is

quite a reasonable length of time.

435

It starts to then show you where

maybe sales are going up on a weekly

436

basis because the product is new and

becoming popular, or maybe they're

437

going down because maybe it's less,

less popular or isn't something that's,

438

you know, that's selling as well.

439

So it does help to smooth out those

kind of spikes of, of where something

440

might have suddenly, you know, you

put a social media post out and

441

all of a sudden everybody wants it.

442

So yeah, exactly that kind of thing.

443

It's really useful to help us a

bit of a predictor of, well, this

444

is what that period looked like.

445

This is what the next, you know, X

number of weeks might look like as well.

446

And yeah, it's, um, it's a really

useful process to be able to, to help

447

you understand what might be, you

know, what you might be looking at.

448

Vicki Weinberg: That makes real sense.

449

Thank you so much for that example.

450

Um, I knew you'd have a solution.

451

I also think that that, I guess the

historical data is quite useful as

452

well, because presumably you can look

back at say the Christmas periods

453

last year and say, okay, what, what

were my best sellers last year?

454

What so yeah, what sold really well,

or, you know, things like that to kind

455

of make predictions for future years

as an example, I would imagine that

456

that's something that if you know how

you can, you can do all kinds of things.

457

That and that's really, that's

really clever that you can do

458

all of that on a spreadsheet.

459

I have to say, this is

blowing my mind a little bit.

460

Um, what are some other ways that product

businesses, especially in your experience,

461

so running craft business, what are some

other things that product businesses

462

specifically can do on spreadsheets?

463

Alison Pollecutt: So, um, I think one

of the, one of the things that's very,

464

uh, very applicable to product based

businesses and particularly where, as a

465

business, you might be making something.

466

So I, I mean, my, my business, we, we'd

make embroidery kits, but, uh, I tend to

467

use the example of candle making as a, as

a, as a, an example when I talk to people.

468

And if you make candles, there are

certain things that you're going

469

to need, um, you're going to need,

like, you're going to need wax,

470

you're probably going to need oils.

471

Um, that, you know,

create a beautiful smell.

472

You're going to need wicks.

473

You're going to need a

container to keep it in.

474

You possibly need a box.

475

So there's lots of components and, and

obviously all these things that, you know,

476

you have to price for your time if you're

going to run a business that's going to

477

pay you, you know, pay you some money.

478

So, um, pricing models are a great example

of how spreadsheets can be helpful.

479

So for example, you can have

a list of all the different

480

components that you might have.

481

So it doesn't matter whether, you

know, glass jars come as a unit.

482

You've got one or two or three or

a hundred or however many in stock.

483

Some things like wicks would probably

equally come like that, but you might have

484

things that come in, you know, liquid form

or so they're in volume or they're in, um.

485

I don't know, let's say you have

tissue paper and you cut that up

486

and you wrap your candle nicely,

whatever that might look like.

487

So you can have those kinds of things

as a, a master list of all the things

488

that are component parts for your, for

your item or whatever you're making.

489

And then you can, uh, you can decide how

many of those things go into each product.

490

So one wick, one glass jar,

however much wax, uh, etc.

491

Plug that into your spreadsheet

with your prices from your master

492

list and it will tell you how much

the individual components cost.

493

You can put your time in.

494

You can work out how much you spend,

you know, time you spend putting,

495

making the, making the product and

packaging the product and making it

496

all lovely so that you're ready to, to

ship it out to somebody who buys it.

497

And then you can see what your margin is.

498

So for product based businesses,

particularly small businesses that

499

are making their own, it's a really

great tool to be able to help you

500

with pricing, because at least, you

know, that your starting point to

501

cover your costs looks like this.

502

And then obviously it's what,

what value you're adding as well.

503

It's not just necessarily, oh, you know,

twice, twice as much as the right price.

504

Then that becomes a little bit of a,

uh, an equation that you need to work

505

out how you price your, you know,

you price the value that you add.

506

But those kinds of things for product

based businesses are just so useful.

507

Um, yeah, stock control is,

is, is another really good one.

508

Um, at the moment we're, um, we're in

a period where we're, we're we have a

509

festive cross stitch advent calendar

that we send out, and I have a huge

510

list of people that have bought them,

and some people have bought one, some

511

people have bought more than one, some

people have bought other products to

512

go with it, so I'm using a spreadsheet

to help me manage what that looks like

513

when we send it out, so I make sure that

I've got, got that to help me, uh, send

514

the right products to the right people.

515

And another example is that

people have bought them as a gift.

516

So we'll put a little note in

to say, this is by, you know,

517

gift to you from this person.

518

And I know that because the billing

and shipping name are different.

519

So I can tell from things like that.

520

My website doesn't really

highlight that for me.

521

The spreadsheet is something I can

set up to highlight that perfectly.

522

So it's helping me to do a better

job of customer service as well and

523

be a little bit more personalized.

524

So it feels more, um, you know, kind

of a nicer experience for the person

525

who receives it at the end of the,

you know, at the end of the day.

526

Vicki Weinberg: That's really helpful.

527

Thank you.

528

Thank you for all of those examples.

529

And can, um, can you automate things like

for example, data from other places going

530

into spreadsheets, or does it always

have to be something you manually input?

531

Alison Pollecutt: You, so there's.

532

The answer to that

unfortunately is it depends.

533

So you can, there are, there are ways

that you can connect from your spreadsheet

534

into a platform, for example, uh, you

know, Shopify or Wix or WordPress or

535

something like that, which ultimately

has a database on the other end of it.

536

So you can, usually you connect

to things like that using a, a, a

537

connector that often you, there's a

small, there's a, you know, a charge

538

for it from the people that provide it.

539

Anything like that will

allow you to download stuff.

540

So for our website, we have

a, uh, a WordPress website.

541

I have a, a plugin on it that

every Monday morning, it emails

542

me a number of reports that shows

me the weekly, the weekly sales.

543

And all I do is I, um, open that up.

544

I copy the data and I put

it in my master spreadsheet.

545

So it really is open, copy, paste safe.

546

It's as simple as that.

547

So it's not quite automated,

but it's not far off and it's

548

a very simple way of doing it.

549

Um, yeah, there's, there's, there's

various different ways that you can do it.

550

Obviously, you know, where, where it's

something that isn't that kind of big

551

scale, you might be recording it manually.

552

So, you know, you're potentially, your

leads and enquiries that are coming in for

553

service based, but there are different.

554

There are different solutions and

it really depends on the person that

555

wants to solve the problem, whether

there's a cost involved, how easy

556

they want the process to be for them.

557

Uh, different, yeah, different ways to

do things under different circumstances.

558

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

559

And that, to be honest, that

was the answer I was expecting.

560

That it's because it depends on what

you want to achieve, I guess, and what's

561

possible and what you say, what the

cost implications are on the time and

562

implications are so many variables, but

that's really just useful to notice.

563

That's something that people can explore.

564

Um, so how might business get

started with spreadsheets?

565

Someone who's listening and is

going, Oh, this sounds really good.

566

I could definitely use some spreadsheets.

567

Um, well, like me, for example,

where would you, um, how, what's a

568

good way of getting started, Alison?

569

Alison Pollecutt: So, um, there's,

there's loads of resources out there

570

to help you and to sort of help

you with some, some basic training.

571

I, I run some training myself.

572

Um, one of the things that I, uh,

that I do is I build, I work with

573

people to build the bespoke solutions

for them if that's what they need.

574

But the bit I'm moving towards is actually

trying to help people who run a business

575

to do things that allow them to understand

how a spreadsheet will help them and,

576

and build a tool that will help them.

577

So.

578

You know, lots of, you could, you

could, when I know, when I need to

579

help, when I need some help to figure

out something, I'll often Google this

580

function or this particular thing,

but it's the putting them together,

581

I think that's quite daunting.

582

So the work that I'm doing is actually

building some training so that I can

583

help businesses to say, do you know what?

584

You don't have to know

anything about this.

585

You know, if you can spell

spreadsheet, they don't,

586

that's not even that important.

587

You know, you don't have to come

along with any prior knowledge, but

588

to help people build something fairly

simple, like a, a lead tracker, a

589

CRM system that allows them to, um.

590

Figure out what they need, put the, put

it together in a, in a structured way

591

where I show them the kind of things

that they, uh, that they can do with

592

it that will make their lives easier.

593

And then at the end of it, they have a

tool that they've built that they can

594

use in their business, but they've also

learned how to put things together.

595

Because I think sometimes it's the,

you know, an example of how to use

596

this function or how to use this

piece of information or this tool

597

with an Excel or Google Sheets.

598

It's fine, but you sort of

need to know how to apply it.

599

So if you don't even know it's

there, you don't know what you're

600

looking for, and even if somebody

says, oh, go and look at this.

601

If you don't necessarily have a good

example of how to work with it, then

602

it's more difficult to understand

how you can make it useful for you.

603

And I'd love to show people

the how and the why and the

604

how to stick it all together.

605

So, um, those are the kind of things

that people could do to get going.

606

Also, I have a Facebook group.

607

So if people wanted to come along to that.

608

There's opportunities to say,

Alison, how do you do this?

609

And I have got a couple of things

planned where I'm going to show people

610

how to do it so that they can, uh,

get some, you know, get some insight

611

into some of the processes that I use.

612

There are a couple of things I've

got on the agenda where I'm going

613

to show people how to do something

that will make their lives easier.

614

So yeah, but there's lots of, there's

lots of people that, uh, that are

615

sharing lots of tips and tricks out

there that are really, really helpful,

616

um, and really keen to sort of show

people the magic of spreadsheets.

617

I think in some ways there are so many

fancy tools out there that spreadsheets

618

almost get to the point where people

think, well, that's a bit mundane,

619

that's a bit boring, but actually,

you know, learning one tool that you

620

can do so much with is actually more

beneficial, I think, than learning

621

multiple different tools that all do

something, you know, useful, but they

622

will do them in different places on the

Internet or on your computer when you

623

can have everything at your fingertips.

624

So, yeah.

625

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

626

Thank you.

627

I think that makes sense.

628

Also, I think is if you need, if

you build something yourself, you

629

sort of set up your own sheet.

630

You've, I think just gives you a bit

more confidence if you know how it works,

631

particularly if something isn't working

for you, you want to change something

632

because I've definitely used those,

um, sheets before, you know, sometimes

633

you might get them as a free download,

a spreadsheet that does something.

634

It's a template and you.

635

It's usually a Google doc and you

can fill it in, but nine times out of

636

10, there's at least something that

doesn't work, um, or doesn't work for me

637

because obviously these things are quite

generic and then it's, um, knowing how

638

to change it or having the confidence

to, to mess around with it as it were.

639

Um, I think if you've built your sheet

yourself for what you need, I think

640

that must, yeah, I can see that's quite

empowering actually, because then if

641

you want to add in more data or look

at something a different way, hopefully

642

you'll sort of be able to do that.

643

Alison Pollecutt: Absolutely.

644

And I think that, you know,

you're absolutely right.

645

Templates are a great thing if you want

something that, that does one job for you.

646

But yeah, to go back to the point I made

about as soon as people get a bit of

647

data, they want more and more and more

because they realize the value of it.

648

Exactly that.

649

If it doesn't do quite what you want, and

you don't know how to make it do what you

650

want, then you're either in the realms of

downloading something else and updating

651

two things, or you don't have the means

to be able to collect that information

652

and help yourself and your business.

653

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah, thank you.

654

And something else I picked up on that you

said as well as talking about knowing what

655

you, what you want from the spreadsheet.

656

And I guess that's also

really key, isn't it?

657

To know either what it is you want to

achieve or what it is you want to track.

658

It's probably a really good starting

point to figuring out how to go about it.

659

Alison Pollecutt: Absolutely.

660

Um, I mean, yeah, it's, it's, it's

definitely useful to know what you

661

want to do, but that evolves over time.

662

Your knowledge of what's

possible evolves over time.

663

And rather than, uh, yeah, that's

where I think that having a bit of

664

knowledge and being able to build on

it and a bit of understanding of data

665

and how to build on that is, is just.

666

It's a bit like we do lots of things,

don't we, as business owners, where

667

we, um, you know, we, we have to learn

something because it's critical to

668

us to be able to, to, to, you know,

achieve something in our business.

669

And we don't know what we don't know

to start with, but the more we do,

670

the more we get, get better at it.

671

And the more we gain confidence

in it, and the more we can, we can

672

kind of do things a lot quicker.

673

And I think spreadsheets are no different.

674

I think they can be, they can sound

quite daunting to people and they

675

think, oh, God, you know, it looks

like a really scary tool when you

676

first look at it and you don't know.

677

But actually just knowing a few things

and being able to use them well just

678

helps us to, to gain that little bit of

confidence to, to, to try a bit more and

679

to learn a bit more and to understand a

bit more of what it can do to help us and

680

how they can make our lives even easier.

681

Vicki Weinberg: That's really helpful.

682

Thank you.

683

And I guess also maybe knowing the why

you want to track something too, because

684

I can, you know, I could imagine that you

could very easily get carried away and

685

have spreadsheets, all sorts of things.

686

So I guess keeping track of why you're

recording something is also quite useful.

687

Alison Pollecutt: Yeah.

688

I mean, I, you can probably

imagine I've got spreadsheets all

689

over the place with all sorts of

doing all sorts of things for me.

690

Vicki Weinberg: But then I think if

you, again, if you enjoy it, then,

691

you know, that's a good enough reason.

692

Alison Pollecutt: Yeah, definitely.

693

I mean, yeah, I'm not going

to pretend I don't run my life

694

on spreadsheets because I do.

695

But, you know, it definitely, I think

it's definitely helpful to be, I like

696

being organized and it's the way my, my,

you know, the way that my brain operates.

697

But yeah, it's a really useful thing

to have, you know, things that I don't

698

have to think about too much because

the spreadsheets keep me on track.

699

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah, that makes sense.

700

And, you know, as we've been talking,

I've been thinking about all of the

701

things that I track on spreadsheets

already, and, um, yeah, I'm thinking

702

there must be ways to make them work for

me a bit better than they already do.

703

As I said, I think I just like the fact

of putting things in boxes and lines

704

and columns, but yeah, I might have to

have a chat with you about how I can

705

actually make some of this work for me.

706

Alison Pollecutt: Sure.

707

Vicki Weinberg: So thank you so much

for all that you've shared, Alison.

708

Um, what, before we finish, what

would your number one piece of

709

advice be on whether it's Excel

or spreadsheets in general?

710

What's the one thing

you'd like people to know?

711

Alison Pollecutt: I think I

would say, don't be scared.

712

Just have a go.

713

Um, you know, it's, I suppose going back

to the point I just made, there are.

714

You open up a blank spreadsheet

and it might look really scary

715

and look really daunting.

716

Of course, all these buttons to press,

all these things I don't understand.

717

Um, I don't understand all of them.

718

I'm not going to pretend I know

every single function that there

719

is in Excel because I don't.

720

But I do know the ones that are important.

721

For me for as a business owner, and I

know the things that I use all the time.

722

So honestly, there are probably,

um, probably about 20 things

723

that I use all the time.

724

And there are probably 500 things that I

either never use or use very infrequently.

725

So you don't need to know a huge

amount to get a really decent amount

726

of value out of using a spreadsheet.

727

So just start.

728

And again, I suppose the thing I said

before, we all, we all sort of start off

729

doing things in a, maybe a simple way.

730

And, you know, we do, we learn what

we need to learn to, to, to, you

731

know, carry out whatever tasks we

need to carry out in our business.

732

But if you do that with a

spreadsheet, you might find that

733

you think, oh, that actually,

that wasn't as hard as I thought.

734

So.

735

You know, if you do some simple

things and they help you, perfect.

736

If you do some simple things

and they intrigue you and you

737

think, oh, I want to know more.

738

What else can I do with this?

739

Then that's even better because

then that's kind of started you on a

740

journey, which is, I guess, my journey.

741

I've, I've, pushed and pushed and

pushed to see what I can learn because

742

I think it's a, uh, because I've

enjoyed the process of learning.

743

But yes, don't be scared.

744

Just start.

745

Just have a go.

746

Um, maybe just kind of find some

people that can, that can help

747

you and, and, and share a few

really simple ways to get going.

748

And then, you know, your imagination will

probably run riot and you'll think, huh.

749

Maybe I can, maybe I can do this,

that and the other and it, it will

750

just help you so much, I think.

751

Vicki Weinberg: That's brilliant advice.

752

Thank you so much, Alison.

753

And I'm going to link to your website

in the show notes as well, so people

754

can come over and see more about

you and how you can help people.

755

Alison Pollecutt: Thank you.

756

Vicki Weinberg: Well, thank you so much.

757

Alison Pollecutt: It's

been lovely to talk to you.

758

Thank you so much for, for letting me

have a chat with you about spreadsheets.

759

Uh, and yeah, I've really enjoyed it.

760

Vicki Weinberg: You're welcome.

761

I've really enjoyed it.

762

Thank you so much for listening

right to the end of this episode.

763

Do remember that you can get the

full back catalogue and lots of free

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resources on my website vickyiweinberg.

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com.

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Please do remember to rate and review

this episode if you've enjoyed it

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and also share it with a friend

who you think might find it useful.

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Thank you again and see you next week.