If you want to be an Excel consultant, but you do not know how to use Excel past the beginner level you need to determine where your current skills set is, and based on that you need to determine where to start. Once that has been achieved you need to get a few things in order before you can begin to learn Microsoft Excel at the intermediate level. To start you need to buy a copy of Microsoft Excel 2010 (Windows) or 2011 (Mac). Both Excel 2007 and 2010 will both work, but 2010 has some new features that are very powerful and that should be used. As such, stick with the newest version. 2011 will work on the Mac, 2008 for the Mac does not have VBA, and so you will need to work in Office 2011.
The next step is to buy one or more books on how to use Excel. You will want beginner level books to start and intermediate level books once you have made some progress. Many books cover both. You will also want to get a book or two on Excel VBA, once again, a beginner book and an intermediate book. John Walkenbach, Michael Alexander, and Bill Jelen write some of the better books. You should stick with those for now..
You will also want to join LinkedIn.Com. They have free Excel and Excel VBA user groups so that you can post questions. You can also go to MrExcel, Experts-Exchange, or VBA Express to use their forums. Experts-Exchange does charge a fee, but it is the best of the three groups..
You will also want to locate sites that have videos for your learning experience. You-Tube is a great resource to learn Excel. Learning via video is a great way to quickly grasp a concept.
The next step is for you to grab your beginner level Excel books and to take a seat in front of your computer with Microsoft Excel running. Open the first book and go to page one. Repeat as needed.
On your journey to being an Excel Consultant you will undoubtedly come to a stopping point where you have a question. This will happen a lot. So now you need to find the best way to get answers for your pending questions. Generally, if you cannot find the answer in any of your Excel books, log into Google. Once in Google, type your question using the key words that pertain to your problem, such as how to create a PivotTable. Google will return 10 results per page, but the results may not have the answer you are looking for. If not, rephrase your question and submit again. Give this up to 5 or 6 tries before giving up on Google.
If you are unable to find the answer via Google go to Experts-Exchange and search for your question there. Most likely the answer has been answered before and so you may find your solution right then. If no, post your question on their site. While you wait for your answer to be provided go to LinkedIn.Com and check the Excel groups there, once again searching for an answer to your question. If that also does not work, go to MrExcel and check the forums there. Once again, giving it 5 or 6 tries before you give-up. Check back with the sites until your answer is posted on one of them. You should give this a few hours. If you have done this you should get an answer if you can post your question correctly.
Basically you will repeat this process until you have decided to stop learning. If you know others that use Excel you can also ask them question along the way. Speaking with people at work for help is a great way to learn how to become a Microsoft Excel consultant.
Learning how to become an Excel Consultant is not hard, but it takes time. And you will have many questions along the way. If you use the advice above, you will learn Excel well enough to be a n Excel consultant. It typically takes years, many years, but you will get there. Just exactly how many years depend on you, how quickly you learn, and how much time you commit to learning.
Be patient, be persistent, seek help, and enjoy the ride, you too will soon be an Excel consultant.
