Jeanne Kolenda

If You're Wondering What This Has to Do with Excel...read the story!

Many of you have heard parts of my story and you know that I did everything backwards.  I graduated from high school two years early (not a good idea, no matter how brilliant they think you are), I got married and had my first child before I was 18 (also not a good idea unless you experienced with babies, which I was – my mom had 5 more after me).  Then, I waited 10 more years to start college.  I never lived on campus, I never enjoyed “college life” because I had to rush home to pick up my kids from their school.  We then did our homework together until dad got home and I took off for work as a server at a country club nearby.  At midnight, I came home, slept for a few hours and started it all over again.

It was a grueling schedule, but I LOVED it and I was almost sad when it was over.  That was in the late 70’s and we didn’t have computers, cell phones, or even faxes back then.  So I missed out on the  whole computer revolution.  It wasn’t until the mid 80’s that I used my first word processor.  The big spreadsheet software back then was Lotus123.  I was so intent on learning desktop publishing (I had a small newspaper by then and was a journalist) that I never even thought about the spreadsheet software.  Just too much for my brain at that time.

Over the next decade, I kept hearing about Excel and the power of it.  I would look at the manuals in the bookstores I frequented and they were 1000 pages long.  Too much for a weekend project.  Anyway, why did I need that?  By the early 90’s my children were grown, in college or graduated and working on another degree, and I had founded a telecommunications company along with my husband.  Every way I turned, I was bumping my head on some project that I had to hire someone to help me with — and it all revolved around needing a spreadsheet!  My assistants made beautiful spreadsheets for me and secretly I was envious of these younger people who could just throw this stuff together so effortlessly.

Fast forward a few years, and I met Sue White.  She and I became friends largely due to our motorcycles.  She and her husband travel together on a large Yamaha Venture (sort of like a Goldwing) and my husband and I both have BMW bikes.  Our friendship took us on many long rides, sometimes for a weekend.  One of my favorite memories is of a ride to Savannah where we stayed on the Riverfront and stopped at wineries on the way for tastings.  (Yes, there are wineries in the south!)

But I digress…I found out that Sue was a Microsoft Certified Specialist and she had owned a corporate software training company with 26 employees in PA before she moved to Myrtle Beach.  A bell went off in my head — here was the answer to my Excel dilemma.  She could teach me Excel basics and I wouldn’t have to wade through thick tutorials or go back to school, or even pay for expensive training via videos.  So, we rounded up a couple more people who had the same need, and we made a weekend of it.  Sue is such a good instructor, that when the weekend was over, I came home and made my very first Excel spreadsheet – my Christmas card list.  Now, that was primarily a data file, and I wanted to use some numeric functions, so I included how much I spent on postage and cards and used the Auto Sum button to add it all up.  Then, I sorted by zip code, by state and also my international friends…just for fun.  Wow, I just knew this was going to be the beginning of a long love relationship.  I LOVED this software.

Stay tuned for more of my Excel stories…see what I did next.

Jeanne

PS…Sue and I are now business partners in BusinessTrainingTeam.com.  She begins teaching an intermediate – advanced course on Excel this week.  Introduction Level videos are also included.  To get more information, look up in the left sidebar of this post and you’ll see a link.  Also, join us for a FREE Q&A webinar tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug 31 at 3pm EST…it’s all about EXCEL!

I’ll be the first to admit that Excel is the least intuitive of all the Microsoft products.  My goodness, just walk into a big bookstore and take a look at the tutorial manuals on the subject.  They’re like 2000 pages long.  It’s a daunting thought that I could even begin to sort through all that.

YET, there have been times when I knew that the only thing that made sense was to organize some information in a spreadsheet format.  I longed for this skill, but never seemed to have the time to set aside to figure it out.

You see, I didn’t start my business career until after I had raised my children.  I didn’t even start college until they were in elementary school.  And in those days (I’m really dating myself now!) we weren’t even using computers, much less learning spreadsheets.  So, as I took to business like a duck to water, I was seriously lacking in many skills that today’s college kids take for granted.

You can be sure, however, that I found a way to catch up and had a rip-roaring good time doing it.  Since I was working as a journalist back then, the first software I learned was, of course, a word processing program.  Then, a desktop publishing program.  Somehow Excel never made it to the top.

Finally, a few years ago, after spending lots of money hiring all my spreadsheet work done, I decided that I wanted to learn it for myself — not that I’ve quit outsourcing it, but sometimes late at night when I want to be able to throw a spreadsheet together to look at some data, I don’t have to wait for someone else to help me.  I asked my friend Sue White, who is a Microsoft Certified Specialist and Trainer, to give me some private lessons and she did.  After several hours, she left me with a written tutorial with exercises and other than a few phone calls here and there, I pretty much mastered what I needed in about 6 hours of instruction with a competent instructor (Sue).

Little did I know that years later Sue and I would partner together to launch Business Training Team.  We did that last year, and it’s been so exciting to help small business owners have access to the training they need and want at an unbelievably affordable price.

We hold free Webinars each Tuesday at 3pm, and we’ve covered a wide variety of business related subjects.  This next Tuesday, Sue will be giving expert advice on Microsoft Excel.  Then, we will be launching a comprehensive training program that will rival any corporate training package I’ve ever seen.  I’ve done my homework, and these corporate training sessions, both in person and online costs hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars.  You’ll be amazed at the low price of our course.

To get started, look at the top left side of this post.  You’ll see a link for a FREE gift we have for you — a 10-page report of Microsoft Office Tips and Shortcuts.

Then, if you look down just a little, there’s a link to register for the FREE webinar with Sue White next Tuesday.

Please take time to think about investing in your own skills…in your productivity, and bring along an employee or a friend.   See you next Tuesday!

In closing, I’m wondering if you use Microsoft Excel?  How did you learn it?  What is your skill level?  Leave a comment and let me know.

I’ve used the Microsoft family of products for many years and have even trained others to use the Microsoft products effectively.  Power Point was one of the last of the “family” that I became an expert in using.  Power Point really is one of the most compelling and persuasive of all business presentation tools in the marketplace today.  However, if you don’t know how to use it correctly, it can have quite the opposite effect.  It can be your friend, but you must pay attention to a few guidelines.  Here are the top 7 mistakes to avoid at all costs.

1.  Don’t depend upon Power Point to cover up for your not having a compelling presentation.

In some ways, Power Point’s ease of use just might be its own worst enemy.  It’s so easy to build impressive slides that really pop with color and graphics, but the slides need to enhance what you have to say, not take your place as a speaker.  However impressive and compelling you make your Power Point presentation, make sure your spoken remarks are equally engaging.  Always remember you are creating slides to support you as a speaker.  To sum it up – Power Point makes slides, people give presentations.

2.  Don’t forget to…Simplify, simplify.

See that your charts are simple and easy to understand.  Make certain that your graphics really reflect your point.  Don’t just throw in graphics to decorate the slides.  Use short sentences or headlines.  Don’t repeat every word of your presentation on your slides.  Remember – it’s there simply for support, not to give the whole presentation.

3.  Don’t read your slides to the audience.

I’ve seen so many people stand up and just point and click and read the material that is on the slides.  It makes it seem that the only reason you’re there is to use the clicker.  After all, anyone could point and click, but you’re there because you have expertise in something and people want to hear YOU.  It also creates a very boring presentation when the audience is simply reading along with you.  Always keep eye contact with your audience.  Have much more to say that what is on your Power Point slides.  And for goodness sakes, don’t stand with your back to the audience so that you can read the slides. No one wants to see the back of your head, no matter who your stylist is!

4.  Timing is everything – Don’t ignore it.

Make sure your comments aren’t timed precisely with the advance of a new slide.  That’s distracting to your audience.  If you have a well-orchestrated presentation, your slide will appear when the audience has time to read it, digest what it says and then look to you to follow up with comments that expand the subject matter they’ve just seen on the screen.  Cheri Kerr, a pubic relations consultant from Santa Ana, CA, says, “Never talk on top of your slides.

5.   Don’t forget to use colors and graphics effectively.

Don’t let your presentation be boring or hard to read.  Use vibrant colors and striking contrasts with backgrounds and words in your slides.  Power Point offers many graphics as part of a clip art package, but you should search out and use outside images – both pictures and graphics, and even video.

6.  Don’t pass out printed material before your presentation.

Some folks may not agree with this, but I have found it to be terribly distracting to be speaking to a room full of people who are studying the handouts.  I recommend waiting until the end of your presentation to distribute printed material.  I know there are exceptions when printed material will be imperative, but let it be the exception rather than the rule.

7.  Don’t forget to take a break from the slides now and then.

Experienced Power Point users know that the slides are just a visual enhancement to what is being spoken. Therefore, they are not at all shy about letting the screen go blank once in awhile.  It’s an opportunity to give your audience a visual break and to give yourself a chance to focus on the interaction with you and your audience.  This is especially effective during a Q&A session.

Bonus: I know I said 7 mistakes, but here’s a bonus for you…

Never use a presentation that has not been ruthlessly edited and proofed by more than one person.

I’m an excellent copywriter and have made a good living with my writing skills.  However, I always have another set of eyes to proof important pieces before putting them before the public.  It doesn’t matter how good you are, you’re not too good to get someone else’s opinion, especially with Power Point, because it’s much more than just correct spelling and grammar here – it’s the use of color and graphics and must be appealing to the eye.  Don’t skip this step.

For a FREE 10-page report on Tips and Tricks to Using Microsoft Office products, click here.

Microsoft Word is a wonderfully powerful and efficient program, but sometimes accessing that power is not as simple or intuitive as you would hope.  It’s really frustrating when you just know you should be able to accomplish a certain task with the software, but you just can’t figure it out.  Sometimes, even using the Help feature from within the program isn’t much help.  I’ve been using Microsoft Word for many years, and I’ve trained others to use this beautiful piece of software.  I would like to share with you 3 useful tips for getting the most of your Microsoft Word experience.

Creating Lists with Bullets and Numbers

• Type your list and press [Enter] at the end of each item in your list.  If your information runs onto the next line, just let it run and don’t press [Enter] at the end of the first line
• Select the list. Using your mouse, highlight all the text in your lists.  Once it is highlighted, look up in the toolbar and click on either the bullet list or the number list icon.  These icons have 3 little short lines with either small dots or numbers on the right side.
• If you decide to switch from bullets to numbers, just highlight the area again, and click on the other icon.

Changing the bullets to another character – Sometimes you may not be satisfied with that plain little black dot and you want to make your bullet points more interesting.  No problem!

• Look on your menu options along the top of your page.  You’ll see one labeled “Format.”
• Click on “Format” and choose “Bullets and Numbering.”
• Make sure the Bullets tab is selected.
• Select one of the bullet styles that are available.
• If you’re not happy with any of the styles shown, just click on one of the styles shown, then click on “Customize.”  You will be shown some different options. Some fonts are little graphics that can be used, or you can choose a character, a symbol, or even an appropriately sized picture.
• When you’re finished selecting the bullet you like, just click on OK.

Changing the formatting of a word every time it appears – If you’ve used a particular word more than once in a document, and you have a reason to change the formatting, it’s easy to do when you use the “Find and Replace” tool.  Let’s say you want to change the color of a word each time it appears, or you want to make the font bold, or make it ALL CAPS, then is the tip for you.

• Make sure you are at the very beginning of your document.
• Press [Ctrl+H] and this will bring up the Replace tab in your “Find and Replace” tool.
• The Find What and the Replace With boxes should be empty.
• Enter the word you want to find in the “Find What” box.
• Press the Tab key to move to the “Replace With” box. If you are simply changing the formatting and not changing the words(s), then put the same word in the “Replace With” box.
• Click on “Format” at the bottom of the box.  If you don’t see it, click on “More” and your options will be expanded.  Make the changes from the formatting menu.  You can change the font, the font color, size, and many other options that you will see listed.
• When you’re finished with your changes, click OK.
• To complete things, click “Replace All.”

If you need help with any of the Microsoft Office products, click here for a 10-page FREE report on Office Tips and Tricks.

Please leave a comment and tell me what you struggle with most in Microsoft Office products.

Computers are not a luxury anymore.  Most school children are required to have a working knowledge of basic computer skills.  My 5-year-old grandson logs onto his father’s MacBook and watches his favorite movies via Netflix.  Before doing some training this week on this subject, I wrote out a list of the ways I use my computer.  Here’s my list:

• Marketing
• Training
• Voicemail Switch Access
• Accounting
• Email Communication
• Keeping Up With the News
• As an Encyclopedia
• Shopping
• And the list goes on…..

How about you?  What would your list look like?

Since computers are such an integral part of our daily lives and business, we have to take care of them.  Some people just don’t know how to do that.  I’d like to cover some basics in this article, and give you some free tools to download to help you take care of your computer(s).

Keeping It Clean

In order to keep it clean, there is some routine maintenance that must be performed. This maintenance includes:

1. Deleting temporary and junk files
2. Cleaning your registry
3. Cleaning up unwanted cookies
4. Clearing your browser history once in awhile

If you don’t know any of those terms, you can do a google search and get information. Or, you can just take my word for it.  There are two free tools that will accomplish these tasks for you.  You should use both of them. The first is called Abexo. To download it, just do a Google search and choose one of the many sites that make it available.  The second is a tool called CCleaner, and you can find it on the home page at www.piriform.com.  That website has several other freebies that you might want to take a look at.

Keeping It Safe

Staying bug-free isn’t just for pest control companies!  You have to keep your computer safe as well as your home. There are several different classes of bugs – Malware (malicious software), Adware, Spyware, and Viruses.  They all require a different approach.  The worst thing about a virus is that it has the ability to replicate itself.  Viruses are nasty.  One way to avoid viruses is to NEVER open an attachment that comes in an email unless you are really sure of the sender and you are confident that the attachment is something you are expecting and need.

Here is the list of free tools.  I’ll comment on them at the end of the list.

1. Spybot Search & Destroy – The best way to find this is to just do a google search and because it’s free, you’ll find several difference sources for the download.  Just pick one.
2. MalwareBytes – You’ll find this at www.malwarebytes.org.
3. Microsoft Security Essentials – Microsoft finally did something really right. This is an awesome product.  One word of caution: DO NOT run this along with another anti-virus product, such as AVG or Norton or McAfee.  Pick one and stick with it.  I am very satisfied with the Microsoft product, and would not pay for this service when something of this quality and effectiveness is free.  Look for this product on Microsoft’s home page /security_essentials.

I run MalwareBytes and Microsoft Security Essentials, and I could add Spybot if I wanted to without any conflict.

Keep It Organized

Degragging your hard drive is mandatory if you want to keep your computer running up to speed, literally (no pun intended).  Here’s a word picture for what defragging will do.  Let’s suppose you live in a house and you constantly take things out of drawers, out of cabinets, off bookshelves, etc. and you never put them completely away.  Pretty soon, you’d have a hard time finding things – it would take you a long time to locate items that had become separated or even lost.  This is what happens on your hard drive when you constantly use it to access information.  Defragging fixes that – it organizes your data and puts it all back where it’s supposed to be.

I defrag once a week, and more often if I see things freezing up, or slowing down.  If I am seeing these symptons, I will also clean the registry, run an optimizer and reboot.

Some people don’t do it as often, but whatever you do, make sure it’s regular.

Here’s my best tip for a free defrag tool:  Defraggler.  It’s also from www.piriform.com, the same company where I recommended you get CCleaner.

I hope I’ve been able to educate you and provide some useful tools that will cost you nothing but the download time.

Check out www.businesstrainingteam.com to get more information that could be a big help to you as you run your small business.

If you have other freebies that you’d like others to know about, just leave a comment.  I’ll include them in a report that I’m putting together to give away.