1 00:00:00,210 --> 00:00:07,650 Andrew Kamphey: I think the process and the core thing that worked to turn it into something that really, other people wanted was that I listened. 2 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:12,180 Like external information is better than my like internal information. 3 00:00:12,254 --> 00:00:13,904 Yes, I'm the expert at this. 4 00:00:13,964 --> 00:00:21,114 I know what to do here, but to know what sells, you just gotta listen and you gotta put content out and iterate. 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,320 Iteration is put it out, listen to the feedback and then actually do it. 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,641 Change it, position it, tweak it, edit it, recontextualize it. 7 00:00:37,010 --> 00:00:39,620 David Shriner-Cahn: Welcome to Smashing The Plateau. 8 00:00:39,770 --> 00:00:48,230 We help consultants, coaches, entrepreneurs, and small business owners build their business after a long career as an employed professional. 9 00:00:49,070 --> 00:00:53,750 We believe you should be able to do what you love and get paid what you're worth, consistently. 10 00:00:54,295 --> 00:00:56,195 I'm your host David Shriner-Cahn. 11 00:00:56,735 --> 00:01:01,535 Today on Smashing the Plateau, I'm speaking with the owner of Better Sheets, Andrew Kamphey. 12 00:01:02,035 --> 00:01:08,125 In today's episode, you'll learn the very simple process that Andrew used to find his Google Sheets niche. 13 00:01:08,485 --> 00:01:10,645 Stay with us to hear all the details. 14 00:01:11,125 --> 00:01:15,715 Do you struggle to take consistent action on things like working to find your niche? 15 00:01:16,105 --> 00:01:18,115 How do you feel about your business building progress? 16 00:01:18,990 --> 00:01:27,870 Would you like to be part of a structured, supportive process to help you implement ideas that you know will help you move the needle toward your goals. 17 00:01:28,470 --> 00:01:34,290 As a member of the Smashing the Plateau Community, you'll have access to a structured process for growth. 18 00:01:34,710 --> 00:01:43,530 You'll also be a member of a community that's built to be a safe, caring place where inclusive, direct, active and empowering conversations are welcome. 19 00:01:44,010 --> 00:01:55,260 Inside the Smashing the Plateau Community, you'll find a range of tools and resources to support you as an entrepreneur, access to experts and answers to your burning questions. 20 00:01:55,710 --> 00:02:12,180 If you're committed to getting your consulting, coaching, or small business to grow on your own terms so that you can deliver great results to your ideal clients while supporting the lifestyle you want, and you don't want to do it alone, apply to become a member of the Smashing the Plateau Community. 21 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,300 Learn more at smashingtheplateau.com. 22 00:02:15,675 --> 00:02:17,615 Now let's welcome Andrew Kamphey. 23 00:02:18,015 --> 00:02:20,115 He is a Google Sheets wizard, Andrew. 24 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:20,985 Welcome to the show. 25 00:02:21,195 --> 00:02:22,605 Andrew Kamphey: Hi David, thank you for having me. 26 00:02:22,755 --> 00:02:24,672 David Shriner-Cahn: Google Sheets wizard is pretty cool. 27 00:02:24,702 --> 00:02:32,340 Tell me a little bit about your career, because I know you didn't study Google Sheets in school and you didn't wake up one day and become a wizard. 28 00:02:32,730 --> 00:02:36,390 There was a little bit of a process, so I'd love to start with your story. 29 00:02:36,825 --> 00:02:40,469 Yeah, I didn't go on a lifelong apprenticeship for wizardry. 30 00:02:40,469 --> 00:02:47,819 Merlin's been dead for a while, if he ever existed begin with, and he even wasn't a wizard of the spreadsheets. 31 00:02:48,127 --> 00:02:58,287 so the wizarding didn't come for many years and was learned through the hard process of Googling stuff every single day for five years. 32 00:02:58,857 --> 00:02:59,007 Yeah. 33 00:02:59,012 --> 00:03:00,619 So tell me about the real backstory. 34 00:03:00,619 --> 00:03:04,879 Like where'd you start in your career, what did you study and how did it lead to Google Sheets? 35 00:03:05,179 --> 00:03:14,181 Andrew Kamphey: Yeah, in college, I studied theater, which is not really, you can't really connect that very quickly with working in business and Google Sheets. 36 00:03:14,208 --> 00:03:16,393 but after, this degree. 37 00:03:16,393 --> 00:03:21,433 And after I left college, I ended up in Chicago and I worked as a minimum wage Santa. 38 00:03:21,433 --> 00:03:24,493 I literally was paid the least amount they could pay me. 39 00:03:24,823 --> 00:03:27,613 I was working downtown Chicago, Macy's. 40 00:03:28,003 --> 00:03:35,983 If anyone is listening to this in Chicago, it was the old Marshall Fields building over in the back corner of Cozy Cloud Cottage. 41 00:03:36,403 --> 00:03:46,073 I did work for one day, literally as Santa, in Daley Plaza, if anyone from Chicago is listening to this, they're like freaking out that these are like actual places from Chicago. 42 00:03:46,523 --> 00:03:47,633 They're like, oh my God, I've been there. 43 00:03:47,633 --> 00:03:49,883 I've taken my kids and sat on Santa's lap. 44 00:03:49,883 --> 00:03:55,313 And I was like, yeah, one day out of the last, like 20 years, I've, worked Daley Plaza. 45 00:03:55,853 --> 00:04:05,998 And the reason I was working as a Santa was I was actually waiting in Chicago, working my way through living, and ended up getting a call to work on a cruise ship. 46 00:04:05,998 --> 00:04:14,166 I applied for a cruise ship job as a videographer ended up not getting that, but getting a role on ships as a theater tech. 47 00:04:14,166 --> 00:04:19,116 So I was as stage staff inside the theater on ships, which whisked me away back to Florida. 48 00:04:19,116 --> 00:04:20,106 I'm from Florida. 49 00:04:20,416 --> 00:04:24,196 I went to Chicago, then back to Florida to work on cruise ships for five years. 50 00:04:24,706 --> 00:04:32,090 And while I was on cruise ships, I realized like the job I was doing as stage staff was a pretty rugged life. 51 00:04:32,450 --> 00:04:34,490 And I really wanted to do film and video. 52 00:04:34,610 --> 00:04:39,710 I originally even went to college to do film and video, but we didn't have a film degree. 53 00:04:40,070 --> 00:04:45,140 I ended up doing this third best one, which is theater, other than film. 54 00:04:45,685 --> 00:04:50,485 Wanted to do directing ended up on ships doing videography. 55 00:04:50,875 --> 00:05:00,431 And while I was in the broadcast sort of world on ships, I got another job there where I was doing digital content on the ship where this is 80 touch screens. 56 00:05:00,431 --> 00:05:07,406 And now probably, years later, every cruise ship has these touchscreens around the ship, but at the time they were literally installing them. 57 00:05:07,676 --> 00:05:12,656 I was like the third person ever in this role of running these digital screens. 58 00:05:12,686 --> 00:05:25,324 And I had to learn Excel and they were all of the content was run on Excel documents and I was really lazy and I just wanted to not work with like other people to get that data in. 59 00:05:25,324 --> 00:05:29,524 And I, and there was all this data that came, keep coming in every day of events and this and that. 60 00:05:29,914 --> 00:05:36,044 And I was like, I really don't wanna have to update these every single day, like hundreds of little pieces of data. 61 00:05:36,314 --> 00:05:46,022 So I learned Excel VBA, which is a little bit of an automation on top of Excel, literally by just like Googling it and figuring out what was, what I needed to do. 62 00:05:46,622 --> 00:05:51,272 And that translated, after I left ships. 63 00:05:51,932 --> 00:05:54,307 I was like, I'm gonna go work in LA. 64 00:05:54,367 --> 00:05:57,577 I'm gonna live the life of like film TV. 65 00:05:57,727 --> 00:05:59,737 I had shot a documentary. 66 00:05:59,737 --> 00:06:04,507 I had shot a short film on ships when I got to LA, nobody cared. 67 00:06:04,987 --> 00:06:07,867 Not a single person cared about my five years on ships. 68 00:06:07,931 --> 00:06:10,137 They didn't understand what was going on ships like that. 69 00:06:10,137 --> 00:06:11,937 We were running a lot of different things. 70 00:06:12,417 --> 00:06:15,177 I also learned avid editing. 71 00:06:15,177 --> 00:06:21,132 I was a video editor, videographer, filmmaker, and in LA, if you're everything, you're nothing. 72 00:06:21,402 --> 00:06:23,052 You gotta be specialized in something. 73 00:06:23,052 --> 00:06:35,342 And so it was very hard for a year and a half, very difficult, but got a full-time job at a startup TV network where I worked as a PA, I was literally the lowest person on the totem pole. 74 00:06:35,732 --> 00:06:39,302 And I happened to get very interesting advice. 75 00:06:39,302 --> 00:06:44,432 David Shriner-Cahn: Did your ability to be able to do so many different things, help with the startup? 76 00:06:44,747 --> 00:06:47,077 Andrew Kamphey: Not really the ability to do it. 77 00:06:47,077 --> 00:06:52,597 Many things just gave me the confidence that I could do anything that I could learn, anything on the way. 78 00:06:52,602 --> 00:07:06,891 Like PA, a production assistant sort of just does what is needed, not necessarily with any skills or involved and, I knew, like I had to just get a lot of experience in LA to see which way I wanted to go. 79 00:07:06,961 --> 00:07:07,571 I knew editing. 80 00:07:07,571 --> 00:07:09,131 So I was like, do, should I be editing? 81 00:07:09,281 --> 00:07:10,751 I got a couple jobs as an editor. 82 00:07:10,751 --> 00:07:11,981 And I was like, I don't wanna do this. 83 00:07:11,981 --> 00:07:14,681 This is horrible work, like logging and stuff. 84 00:07:14,725 --> 00:07:18,542 It gave me the breadth of knowing what I wanted and what I didn't want. 85 00:07:18,822 --> 00:07:19,859 I got very lucky. 86 00:07:20,624 --> 00:07:30,444 I was working for a year and a half in LA, ended up getting some good jobs, but like at the worst, in the worst times I was like working at Universal Studios. 87 00:07:31,209 --> 00:07:35,049 I like worked for minimum wage again, and like People at the Minion ride. 88 00:07:35,289 --> 00:07:38,739 I was directing ushering people at the Minion ride at Universal studios. 89 00:07:38,739 --> 00:07:43,359 It was like, it was a dark time for a year and a half after working on cruise ships. 90 00:07:43,779 --> 00:08:00,129 But I got this job and the one piece of advice that helped me do the next thing that I did was that someone recommend not recommended, but strongly suggested if you ever get a job in LA, be the first one in the office and be the last one to leave the office. 91 00:08:00,639 --> 00:08:05,973 When I got this advice, I was like, oh yeah, just work hard and work longer than everybody else. 92 00:08:06,033 --> 00:08:06,693 That's the key. 93 00:08:06,843 --> 00:08:22,038 And they're like, no, your job, when you get a job in LA, in Hollywood, your job is to get another job and the person who's gonna get you, that job works where you're working and you don't know which person is gonna be either the people that come in early, or the people that come in late. 94 00:08:22,338 --> 00:08:24,138 It's one of those two, but you don't know who it. 95 00:08:24,708 --> 00:08:28,398 And so you have to be the first one in the office before everyone. 96 00:08:28,518 --> 00:08:31,188 And then the last one in the office before every, after everyone leaves. 97 00:08:31,728 --> 00:08:33,768 And that way you will get another job in LA. 98 00:08:33,768 --> 00:08:36,618 I was like, oh, really, I didn't believe this. 99 00:08:36,618 --> 00:08:37,878 David Shriner-Cahn: And did you do that, Andrew? 100 00:08:37,938 --> 00:08:43,533 Andrew Kamphey: I did that , when I got this job, I was the first one in the office and the last one to leave. 101 00:08:43,563 --> 00:08:47,013 And I was also like scared of LA traffic at that point. 102 00:08:47,013 --> 00:08:48,273 I wasn't used to a commute. 103 00:08:48,843 --> 00:08:55,942 I was used to like working on ships where the longest commute is like 30 seconds or a minute, if you are slow up the stairs. 104 00:08:56,362 --> 00:09:03,862 And so what ended up happening was truly like a lightning strike, like catching lightning in a bottle. 105 00:09:04,372 --> 00:09:08,924 I was there early and there late and the CEO stayed late every single day. 106 00:09:09,349 --> 00:09:13,949 And there was also one other person at this startup TV network who, stayed there later. 107 00:09:14,309 --> 00:09:18,509 And it was someone who worked there far longer than I did, like six months before me they started. 108 00:09:18,929 --> 00:09:20,849 And they complained a lot. 109 00:09:21,269 --> 00:09:27,171 And they complained about a Google Sheet that they were using, that they had to give to, the other people in the office to use. 110 00:09:27,171 --> 00:09:28,851 And they're like, oh, they're all messing it up. 111 00:09:29,211 --> 00:09:31,131 And I kept hearing these complaints day after day. 112 00:09:31,131 --> 00:09:33,885 And I was like, I wonder if there's a solution to this. 113 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:39,240 Like these little ticky tacky problems that this seems like a human problem. 114 00:09:39,290 --> 00:09:41,030 oh, you're sharing the sheet with many people. 115 00:09:41,030 --> 00:09:42,200 They don't know how to use it. 116 00:09:42,350 --> 00:09:43,460 They're using it in a different way. 117 00:09:43,460 --> 00:09:47,750 But what if like the way you wanted to use it was set in the sheet from the beginning. 118 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:54,550 And so I learned in two weeks I learned Google Script because I had the experience of Excel, VBA. 119 00:09:54,570 --> 00:09:59,175 I knew that, Google Script existed, but I didn't know how to use it. 120 00:09:59,425 --> 00:10:07,525 In two weeks, it's took me two weeks to write one line of code, like one little, one thing that happened in the sheet. 121 00:10:07,599 --> 00:10:16,329 when someone edited the sheet, basically it moved a row of information from one tab to another tab based on what the person did. 122 00:10:16,779 --> 00:10:18,459 That's it, that's the only thing it did. 123 00:10:19,314 --> 00:10:25,434 And I, it took me two weeks to learn that and I showed it to my boss was like, hey, I think like this could be helpful. 124 00:10:25,473 --> 00:10:26,283 do you want to use this? 125 00:10:26,283 --> 00:10:28,233 They're like, we need to use this right away. 126 00:10:28,503 --> 00:10:38,103 And then two months later after doing that a bunch of times, and still staying in the office and adding and helping the CEO took me out to the balcony was like, you need to do this more. 127 00:10:38,103 --> 00:10:39,783 And the other stuff you need to do less. 128 00:10:40,083 --> 00:10:43,953 So we're promoting you to this other position. 129 00:10:44,043 --> 00:10:46,167 Tell me what your role is title is. 130 00:10:46,497 --> 00:10:47,187 I was like what? 131 00:10:47,667 --> 00:10:50,097 I literally had to make up a title for myself. 132 00:10:50,517 --> 00:10:54,837 And that's how I learned Google Sheets and Google Script at the very beginning. 133 00:10:55,497 --> 00:11:04,527 David Shriner-Cahn: And how did you transition from the, this particular job to having a business of your own, that was focused on Google Sheets. 134 00:11:05,427 --> 00:11:08,650 Andrew Kamphey: So the next four years is a whirlwind. 135 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:19,060 All in Sheets, basically because I was in the office and listening to all these problems and then solving them pretty quickly with Google Sheets and Google Script. 136 00:11:19,540 --> 00:11:23,080 The entire company was run on Google Sheets. 137 00:11:23,170 --> 00:11:30,718 Everything was done in Google Sheets from basic CRM, that did license, we did licensing of YouTube videos. 138 00:11:30,928 --> 00:11:34,208 We did downloading and, scraping of YouTube channels. 139 00:11:34,448 --> 00:11:46,291 And we were putting a lot of data into sheets and then production was using, I created special sheets for sort of each stage of production from shooting video to logging video, to editing video. 140 00:11:46,591 --> 00:11:48,241 Everybody was using Google Sheets. 141 00:11:48,781 --> 00:11:59,341 And literally every single day I was Googling like how to do so I was trying to work one step ahead of everybody else and then relate that back to everyone else. 142 00:11:59,401 --> 00:12:00,511 Like here's how to do this. 143 00:12:00,541 --> 00:12:03,091 Here's how to do that and fixing it and adding to it. 144 00:12:03,751 --> 00:12:05,521 And I kept doing different things. 145 00:12:05,521 --> 00:12:10,801 So it was all one startup, but we kept doing different things like we did influencer marketing. 146 00:12:10,801 --> 00:12:16,741 And so I built a model for influencer marketing inside of Google Sheets that powered our campaigns. 147 00:12:17,311 --> 00:12:20,123 And I really loved influencer marketing. 148 00:12:20,123 --> 00:12:21,533 I really liked the idea of it. 149 00:12:21,533 --> 00:12:38,104 I was also running like Twitter accounts and like doing my own influencing and, creator stuff on the side and ended up actually quitting that job and going off on my own to run a newsletter that I served while I was there as a side project, I ran a newsletter. 150 00:12:38,854 --> 00:12:39,934 Influence Weekly. 151 00:12:40,174 --> 00:12:43,234 That was doing pretty well, was making me consistent money. 152 00:12:43,384 --> 00:12:51,904 I started traveling, I worked remotely and so I quit my job and I used Google Sheets to power the newsletter. 153 00:12:52,654 --> 00:13:03,474 And ended up like not making an, I made a good amount of money for a remote work, but not really enough to thrive like enough to survive, but not enough to thrive. 154 00:13:03,804 --> 00:13:09,019 And I kept building like SAS products and like trying to fi trying to learn to code. 155 00:13:09,379 --> 00:13:13,309 I loved Google's Script, but I wanted to like really code web apps. 156 00:13:13,639 --> 00:13:17,179 And I had co-founders to try to do SAS companies and everything failed. 157 00:13:17,389 --> 00:13:18,589 And after I quit my job. 158 00:13:18,949 --> 00:13:21,524 For a year and a half, it was horrible and terrible. 159 00:13:21,864 --> 00:13:27,590 I don't think I made a dollar in 2019, then 2020 came around and the world was stuck. 160 00:13:27,950 --> 00:13:38,060 I'm stuck inside of my apartment and something in the back of my mind kept, I kept remembering my co-founder that of the company that I was trying to run. 161 00:13:38,060 --> 00:13:40,190 And we were trying to work on this SAS product. 162 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:46,310 Literally said your Google Sheets look better than everyone else's I've never seen Google Sheets like this. 163 00:13:46,940 --> 00:13:57,557 We used Google Sheets to pick a name for our company that I created this like ranking and rating system for, so we could vote on different aspects of oh domains. 164 00:13:57,857 --> 00:13:59,921 And he's I've never seen anything like this. 165 00:14:00,281 --> 00:14:06,671 And we were working on this SAS product and it was just taking so long to create. 166 00:14:07,151 --> 00:14:12,082 I had been so used to working Google Sheets fast and giving it to someone to use right away. 167 00:14:12,262 --> 00:14:24,502 And so on April, like 2nd 2020, I decided I was gonna, I'm gonna launch something in 24 hours, no matter what, like I'm gonna find a project to do now, and launch it. 168 00:14:24,622 --> 00:14:27,172 It's gonna be a side project cuz I'm working on other things. 169 00:14:27,202 --> 00:14:31,507 I need it to be something that I can add to, but it sells itself. 170 00:14:31,537 --> 00:14:34,897 It not, it's not connected to me my time and money. 171 00:14:34,897 --> 00:14:36,577 It's not consulting, it's not coaching. 172 00:14:36,607 --> 00:14:38,077 It's like I need to launch a product. 173 00:14:38,587 --> 00:14:42,297 And so it was Google Sheets and I started bettersheets.co. 174 00:14:42,667 --> 00:14:47,227 I started with four videos for free and four videos behind a paywall. 175 00:14:47,557 --> 00:14:53,677 And I didn't want to charge a monthly fee so that I wouldn't be on the hook to keep adding every month. 176 00:14:53,677 --> 00:14:57,627 I was like, if I, if my SaaS product goes well, I want this to remain a side project. 177 00:14:58,147 --> 00:15:01,777 So it was one payment for lifetime access. 178 00:15:02,107 --> 00:15:09,586 It was $30 when I launched it and I think it took me like three days to get one customer and then two weeks to get another few. 179 00:15:09,826 --> 00:15:11,386 It did not do very well in the first month. 180 00:15:11,926 --> 00:15:17,941 David Shriner-Cahn: How did you have the perseverance to stick it through, long enough to start to get traction. 181 00:15:18,211 --> 00:15:20,581 Andrew Kamphey: So again, this is total luck. 182 00:15:21,151 --> 00:15:27,211 I've known App Sumo, and I had bought one product like in 2015. 183 00:15:27,211 --> 00:15:34,486 So like BrainFM, which is like binaural sounds to work to, I bought that in like 2015, I was on App Sumo. 184 00:15:34,486 --> 00:15:36,706 I was on like all the email lists for App Sumo. 185 00:15:36,706 --> 00:15:41,240 And they sent out an email of we're looking for a product from Sumo-lings to feature. 186 00:15:41,245 --> 00:15:45,590 Like it's the first time we're asking Sumo-lings for a product and we'll feature it. 187 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:50,090 And I filled out a Google form, this was late April. 188 00:15:50,510 --> 00:15:58,746 So two or three weeks, three or four weeks after I started bettersheets.co I had seven to like th 13 sales. 189 00:15:58,746 --> 00:16:02,586 I think by that, I think I had seven sales by that time, but I had videos. 190 00:16:02,586 --> 00:16:03,546 I had a payment page. 191 00:16:03,576 --> 00:16:06,246 I had all the things that looked like a product. 192 00:16:06,606 --> 00:16:08,316 I applied to this thing. 193 00:16:08,376 --> 00:16:09,546 I didn't know what it was. 194 00:16:09,996 --> 00:16:10,356 Apparently. 195 00:16:10,356 --> 00:16:12,966 700 people applied the next week. 196 00:16:12,966 --> 00:16:15,096 They send me an email, said you're in the top 10. 197 00:16:15,366 --> 00:16:16,356 I was like, great. 198 00:16:16,596 --> 00:16:18,696 And then I thought it was a mistake. 199 00:16:18,816 --> 00:16:20,346 I literally thought it was a mistake. 200 00:16:21,231 --> 00:16:28,571 When I, when they replied to me in the email, like they were you know, how, when you reply to an email, it shows you the thread in the email. 201 00:16:28,781 --> 00:16:29,071 Yeah. 202 00:16:29,141 --> 00:16:30,671 It showed someone else's product. 203 00:16:31,271 --> 00:16:32,471 It was like some other product. 204 00:16:32,651 --> 00:16:35,891 They were like, you're in the top 10, but it was someone else's product in the email. 205 00:16:35,891 --> 00:16:37,061 They were emailing me. 206 00:16:37,361 --> 00:16:38,602 And I was like, I don't, are you correct? 207 00:16:38,678 --> 00:16:39,218 I'm sorry. 208 00:16:39,218 --> 00:16:40,298 I think this is a mistake. 209 00:16:40,358 --> 00:16:41,948 I don't know if I really got in the top 10. 210 00:16:41,953 --> 00:16:46,238 They're like, no, we want the Google Sheets thing, yes, you, we want, I'm like, okay, great. 211 00:16:46,508 --> 00:16:47,138 The next week. 212 00:16:47,378 --> 00:16:47,588 Okay. 213 00:16:47,593 --> 00:16:48,068 You won. 214 00:16:48,188 --> 00:16:49,098 I was like, okay, great. 215 00:16:49,268 --> 00:16:49,928 Oh my God. 216 00:16:50,138 --> 00:16:50,858 I didn't do anything. 217 00:16:50,858 --> 00:16:52,688 Like it wasn't a second, like interview or. 218 00:16:53,298 --> 00:16:58,068 And so in early May, they featured my product on App Sumo. 219 00:16:58,368 --> 00:17:00,768 It's now called the App Sumo Marketplace. 220 00:17:01,128 --> 00:17:02,388 At the time it didn't have a name. 221 00:17:02,388 --> 00:17:06,498 It was just like App Sumo is sharing this Sumo-lings product. 222 00:17:06,948 --> 00:17:12,503 In the first couple days I think it made like 50, 60 sales a day. 223 00:17:12,713 --> 00:17:15,033 I got like a hundred sales in the first month there. 224 00:17:15,033 --> 00:17:16,293 So it was the second month for me. 225 00:17:16,983 --> 00:17:29,223 And over the course of the next few months, I got like a thousand sales, which I actually had to do, which the thing that I would recommend never to do now, after the fact I had started it at $30. 226 00:17:29,403 --> 00:17:32,073 And because app Sumo was like a deal site. 227 00:17:32,283 --> 00:17:34,683 I what went down to $19. 228 00:17:35,338 --> 00:17:42,075 So if a thousand people bought it and I made $19,000, which at the time I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. 229 00:17:42,525 --> 00:17:47,655 I had started other products and apps and stuff and made like $200 in six months. 230 00:17:47,895 --> 00:17:53,325 And now I made like revenue wise, $19,000 through this marketplace. 231 00:17:53,775 --> 00:18:01,815 It worked perfectly, I could now produce the videos on my own, put them in the product and people were coming and getting it. 232 00:18:01,820 --> 00:18:02,685 It was asynchronous. 233 00:18:02,685 --> 00:18:03,315 It was perfect.. 234 00:18:03,745 --> 00:18:05,780 David Shriner-Cahn: So fit what you wanted for your lifestyle? 235 00:18:06,230 --> 00:18:06,680 Andrew Kamphey: Yeah. 236 00:18:06,950 --> 00:18:08,210 David Shriner-Cahn: In terms of the business model. 237 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:09,230 Andrew Kamphey: Absolutely. 238 00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:19,513 I set it up thinking it was a side project at the time, knowing that if I wanted to add to it, I could, but I didn't have to, what you're buying is the thing that exists. 239 00:18:19,813 --> 00:18:24,253 And then with more and more customers, I got a little freaked out. 240 00:18:24,253 --> 00:18:25,993 I was like, I don't know if I can handle this. 241 00:18:26,253 --> 00:18:39,640 but over months and weeks and months, as I went through that process, I realized oh, I could handle like customer service in this particular case because of the way that I'm sharing tips and tricks on Google Sheets. 242 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:41,950 And also how to use Google Sheets in a unique way. 243 00:18:41,965 --> 00:18:49,139 I didn't know that I, what I was doing was strange and different until someone told me your Google Sheets look different than other people's. 244 00:18:49,479 --> 00:18:54,669 And then I was then I'm sharing, oh, this is what's different about these sheets than what you're normally doing. 245 00:18:55,239 --> 00:19:04,524 It took that outside, external influence to give me the confidence, to do it and find that, but then not just dozens of people. 246 00:19:04,524 --> 00:19:07,314 So the first person who bought it, Carlos is his name. 247 00:19:07,464 --> 00:19:08,424 I'll never forget him. 248 00:19:09,114 --> 00:19:09,744 The first day. 249 00:19:09,744 --> 00:19:12,684 He, the first day he bought it, there were only four videos behind the pay wall. 250 00:19:13,044 --> 00:19:16,104 He sent me an a before and after picture of his Google Sheets. 251 00:19:16,104 --> 00:19:18,204 He's like my Google Sheet looked like this. 252 00:19:18,714 --> 00:19:20,034 And now it looks like this. 253 00:19:20,154 --> 00:19:22,874 And I was like, oh my God, this is the perfect marketing material. 254 00:19:22,874 --> 00:19:23,639 this is a success. 255 00:19:23,639 --> 00:19:26,439 The first customer is a success story. 256 00:19:26,463 --> 00:19:27,753 David Shriner-Cahn: It's great testimonial. 257 00:19:27,753 --> 00:19:35,841 So Andrew, here's the question I think is often very puzzling for consultants that have deep expertise in a particular area. 258 00:19:36,411 --> 00:19:38,451 You like looking back. 259 00:19:38,856 --> 00:19:51,974 Now that you've shared this whole chronology of your story, looking back, it's pretty easy to see how to follow the dots that lead to you, having a financially successful business with a very narrow offering. 260 00:19:52,484 --> 00:19:57,204 What advice would you have for consultants that have some. 261 00:19:57,235 --> 00:20:13,415 deep bench of experience that covers decades, about how to take their experience and identify a niche that is likely to lead to a financially successful offering. 262 00:20:13,415 --> 00:20:23,017 Andrew Kamphey: One thing I would like to note is that if you have, I didn't have, 20 or 30 years of experience in Google Sheets, I had five years. 263 00:20:23,617 --> 00:20:27,457 But all of these numbers, you just add zeros to the end, right? 264 00:20:27,457 --> 00:20:33,907 If you have, if I had five years, you have 10 years, 20 years experience, I priced my product at $30. 265 00:20:33,907 --> 00:20:36,277 Just price it at 300 and it's all the same. 266 00:20:36,817 --> 00:20:48,757 I think the process and the core thing that worked to turn it into something that really other people wanted was that I listened like external information is better than my like internal information. 267 00:20:48,759 --> 00:20:50,391 yes, I'm the expert at this. 268 00:20:50,421 --> 00:20:51,891 I know what to do here. 269 00:20:52,311 --> 00:21:05,500 But to know what sells you just gotta listen and you gotta put content out and inerate Iteration is put it out, listen to the feedback and then actually do it, change it, position it, tweak it, edit it, recontextualize it. 270 00:21:05,710 --> 00:21:07,330 And I've been going through this for the last two years. 271 00:21:07,330 --> 00:21:28,508 I've done Better Sheets now for two years to get it to the point of someone bought, it was one thing, but to get it to now 3000 members, 100K in revenue total in two years, what I did after the first person is every single person who asked a question, my response for the first year was a video that everybody could get. 272 00:21:28,748 --> 00:21:42,124 So this iteration process increased 1000 times, not just oh, I can do 10 times more like every single customer that had one question, I answered it. 273 00:21:42,124 --> 00:21:43,894 And then everybody saw the answer. 274 00:21:44,074 --> 00:21:47,629 I put out that video as, members can see it. 275 00:21:48,049 --> 00:21:51,229 So then I was getting double the iteration. 276 00:21:51,229 --> 00:21:53,509 I was saying, okay, you're asking this question. 277 00:21:53,569 --> 00:21:56,329 Now I know what questions to answer. 278 00:21:56,449 --> 00:22:00,259 I'm answering this question, but then I'm seeing how many people are viewing this. 279 00:22:00,499 --> 00:22:02,059 How many people are commenting on this? 280 00:22:02,064 --> 00:22:03,679 What other questions do other people have? 281 00:22:03,949 --> 00:22:08,959 If you go through some of the videos that have like extra questions after the video is done. 282 00:22:09,079 --> 00:22:12,349 So after I've solved this problem, there's now more question. 283 00:22:12,949 --> 00:22:15,709 And you get more videos and I put more videos into it. 284 00:22:15,709 --> 00:22:25,591 So that's how now, after two years, it's almost to 200 videos, 180 videos, but really what happened I did a little wrong thing I saw that was working. 285 00:22:26,131 --> 00:22:33,087 And then I got I don't know if it's lazy or not, but I started answering questions more succinctly and quickly to that person. 286 00:22:33,297 --> 00:22:37,737 So I actually ended up making more than 500 videos using loom and using the technology. 287 00:22:37,917 --> 00:22:39,207 I got very comfortable. 288 00:22:40,332 --> 00:22:44,262 Popping up a screenshare and answering the question and sending it to them. 289 00:22:44,262 --> 00:22:46,162 And they got a real person. 290 00:22:46,192 --> 00:22:49,672 it was very visceral and they got the answer. 291 00:22:49,732 --> 00:22:52,379 They got me telling them the answer in the time period. 292 00:22:52,949 --> 00:22:55,684 And I ended up making yeah, over 500 videos total. 293 00:22:56,284 --> 00:22:58,554 So that iteration process happens so fast. 294 00:22:58,567 --> 00:23:07,194 David Shriner-Cahn: But the the core process is act, listen, analyze iterate, act, listen, analyze, iterate, and just keep doing that over and over again. 295 00:23:07,554 --> 00:23:16,048 Andrew Kamphey: And if you're at, if you're analysis, people might get stuck in that particular process on the analysis part, okay, what do I think about don't think about anything. 296 00:23:16,048 --> 00:23:16,760 Just do the next thing. 297 00:23:16,829 --> 00:23:20,939 if you are the expert, if you've been doing it 10, 20 years, your intuition is so strong. 298 00:23:22,049 --> 00:23:26,969 You're gonna get so many inputs, but really the total outcome is gonna be the input. 299 00:23:27,269 --> 00:23:27,809 Exactly. 300 00:23:27,809 --> 00:23:35,699 As you said, take the input, iterate on it and put it out again, put the edits out, put the tweaks out, put the additions out updates. 301 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:38,459 I think people will get stuck on the analysis. 302 00:23:38,459 --> 00:23:42,729 Like how do I determine if something's working or not, your intuition will tell you. 303 00:23:42,729 --> 00:23:42,735 Or someone else will tell you, 304 00:23:43,259 --> 00:23:46,169 David Shriner-Cahn: which is where the listening comes in. 305 00:23:46,229 --> 00:23:47,258 Andrew Kamphey: Yeah, I didn't know. 306 00:23:47,258 --> 00:23:48,468 I was good at Google Sheets. 307 00:23:48,468 --> 00:23:49,385 I had no idea. 308 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:52,910 There was yes, someone was paying me to degree. 309 00:23:52,940 --> 00:23:53,960 David Shriner-Cahn: Other people told you, 310 00:23:55,070 --> 00:23:55,130 Andrew Kamphey: yeah. 311 00:23:55,130 --> 00:24:04,880 Andrew, for somebody who wants to check out what you've done or access any of this wealth of information that you have amassed and that you offer, where would be the best place for them to go. 312 00:24:05,330 --> 00:24:05,540 Yeah. 313 00:24:05,540 --> 00:24:08,750 Number one, best place to go is bettersheets.co thats .co. 314 00:24:09,140 --> 00:24:12,525 That's the best place to start and see can get a free membership there. 315 00:24:12,885 --> 00:24:15,645 And see some videos and see, feel like what they do. 316 00:24:15,825 --> 00:24:19,735 David Shriner-Cahn: My guest today has been Google Sheets, wizard, Andrew Kamphey. 317 00:24:19,815 --> 00:24:24,025 Andrew, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today and share your entire story. 318 00:24:24,036 --> 00:24:24,906 I think it's been great. 319 00:24:25,266 --> 00:24:28,463 And, for anybody who's listening, check out Andrew's stuff. 320 00:24:28,848 --> 00:24:29,178 Andrew. 321 00:24:29,178 --> 00:24:29,778 Thanks again. 322 00:24:30,078 --> 00:24:30,678 Andrew Kamphey: Thank you, David. 323 00:24:30,978 --> 00:24:31,428 It's a pleasure 324 00:24:33,198 --> 00:24:42,138 David Shriner-Cahn: When you visit the Smashing the Plateau website at smashingtheplateau.com, you'll find a summary of each episode, along with the links we mentioned on the show. 325 00:24:42,588 --> 00:24:49,578 On today's episode with Andrew Kamphey, we learned the very simple process Andrew used to find his Google Sheets niche. 326 00:24:50,298 --> 00:24:55,038 Do you struggle to take consistent action on things like working to find your niche? 327 00:24:55,788 --> 00:24:58,368 How do you feel about your business building progress? 328 00:24:59,168 --> 00:25:07,508 Would you like to be part of a structured, supportive process to help you implement ideas that you know will help you move the needle toward your goals. 329 00:25:08,168 --> 00:25:13,148 As a member of the Smashing the Plateau Community, you'll have access to a structured process for growth. 330 00:25:13,838 --> 00:25:23,568 You'll also be a member of a community that is built to be a safe, caring place where inclusive, direct, active, and empowering conversations are welcome. 331 00:25:23,608 --> 00:25:33,953 Inside the Smashing the Plateau Community, you'll find a range of tools and resources to support you as an entrepreneur, access to experts and answers to your burning question. 332 00:25:34,478 --> 00:25:51,678 If you are committed to getting your consulting, coaching or small business to grow on your own terms so that you can deliver great results to your ideal clients while supporting the lifestyle you want, and you don't want to do it alone, apply to become a member of the Smashing the Plateau Community. 333 00:25:52,568 --> 00:26:03,738 Learn more at smashingtheplateau.com, where we have additional resources to help consultants, coaches, and entrepreneurs build their business after a long career as an employed professional. 334 00:26:04,218 --> 00:26:09,168 We believe you should be able to do what you love and get paid what you're worth, consistently. 335 00:26:09,558 --> 00:26:11,038 I'm David Shriner-Cahn. 336 00:26:11,088 --> 00:26:13,818 Thank you for taking the time to listen to our show. 337 00:26:14,058 --> 00:26:16,068 I'll see you on our next episode.