21+ Frequently Asked Questions About Me
Who are you?
My name is Crispo Mwangi; I work and live in Diani Beach, Kenya.
I am a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert in Data Management and Analytics who designs websites & hosts emails as a hobby.
I spend much of my time studying Excel, Access, Power Platform, and SQL because these skills can be applied to any job or industry.
I am also an Author: 👇–the ONLY book you need to master the Lookup skill in Excel.
BUY a COPY
Ps: I am also the first Microsoft Valuable Professional (MVP) East, Central & South Africa
To learn more about where I work and what I do, check out LinkedIn below.
What did you study in school?
Degrees
⭐ Undergraduate: Bachelor of Art (Economics)–University of Nairobi
⭐ Postgraduate: Masters of Arts (Comparative Religion)–University of Nairobi
Professional Certifications
⭐ Certified Public Accountant (III)
⭐ Human Resource Management (post-graduate diploma)
⭐ MCSE: Data Management and Analytics certification (2019 & 2021)
⭐ PRINCE2 Project Management
Click Below to see Other Certificates
What do you do on your Free Time?
I love to read a lot…for me, a good evening is a fascinating book – and a cup of hot chocolate.
I love gardening, too…there is something spiritually invigorating about plant growth.
Working out like reading is good for the body, the mind, and the soul. I guess this is why I force myself to do it.
Website design stretches your creativity to the maximum…it is like a “brain gym.”
Who ever came up with the SCRABBLE Game should have won a nobel price…It is the next best thing since sliced bread.
When exposed to breathtaking landscapes and new cultures, you are never the same person again…my number one reason for travelling.
Finally, raising children is like growing plants…there is something about being around Growth.
Finally, teaching sums it all about everything I love…see my tutorials on YouTube:
How Do You Decide Which Topics to Blog?
Mostly I write about the solutions I get after solving a client problem or a student question.
Of late I have been intrigued with the new functions in Office365 plus the power platform.
What's Your Favourite Movie or Series?
There are two movies I can watch anytime and have watched numerous time
⭐ SALT (Starring Angelina Jolie)
⭐ LUCY ( Starring Scarlett Johanss0n)
For series:
⭐ THIS IS US ( I cannot get over the rich dialogue between characters).
⭐ PRISON BREAK (Michael is a Genius)
Do You Think Excel Is Still Worth Learning?
You bet it is!
Even with the new applications and languages, Excel is still the king of spreadsheets.
Plus, it is so ubiquitous, that it would be unwise to ignore it 🙌
How Much Money Does Your Blog Generate?
I have not monetized the blog yet, so I have no direct money.
I am in the process of monetizing it.
In terms of the joy it brings when I get feedback from the people it has helped…it earns more than I could imagine
Do you Work out? What's Your Favourite Excercise?
I started this year, end of February 2021, as a way of gaining weight.
After much struggle with weight gain, a doctor suggested hitting the gym and doing more weight lifting.
Bench Press and Preacher Curls are my favourite exercises so far.
What Keep's You Awake at Night?
Three things Mostly;
⭐ Witnessing child exploitation and being unable to do anything about it
⭐ Seeing someone struggle with monotonous, boring tasks and not finding a way to help them automate
⭐ Trying to find new ways to optimize an application or a business process
What are you looking for right now?
More freelancing consultation and training.
Are You Going to Create Video Courses?
Yes, There is plan to Collaborate with some one and have affordable Beginner & Advanced Excel Courses offered on this site
In terms of the work you do, what aspects are you most passionate about and why?
Only 3 Aspects:
* Saving time taken on a task so the staff can engage in other issues like self-development.
* Improving data accuracy and eliminating data illiteracy
* Better data management & analytics methods
Where Do We Go From Here?
Now that you have come to know me, Here are your Next Steps of Action: Hire me, Contact Me or Tell me a Secret
How did you get here?
If a Picture is worth a Thousand words, then a video is worth a Million
This video is a good example of my journey to mastering data management & analytics.
It has been and is usually a 4-step process:
⭐ Get a problem or look for a worthwhile problem to solve.
⭐ Research for solutions while carrying a lot of trial & error
⭐ Record the final working steps & solution
⭐ Teach others how to solve such problems
⭐ Repeat the process again
Please Share Your Career Journey?
I started off as an accounting intern cum cashier reliever at Ufungamano house back in 2006. At the same time hustling as a financial accounting examiner.
I found the accounting job repetitive and rather lonely.
So, the same year I moved to one of the largest flower companies (Oserian Development Company) as a Stores Admin.
I was in Incharge of stock reconciliation and supervision of storekeepers for 5 stores.
This was my first encounter with a large dataset of stock items ranging from dispensary medicines to bolts and spanners in vehicles spares.
The weekly and monthly stock reconciliations demanded I know Excel and data management very fast.
I was also forced to develop and hone team building and supervision skills on the fly.
In 2006 I left the position to go pursue Masters of Arts Degree…I could not resist the scholarship.
2009 I was back in Oserian as a Pack House admin (later to be promotes as assistant manager pack house admin).
If there was a position that stretched me in all directions…this was it.
My tasks included:
- Manage & train data processing, reporting, and analytical team
- Ensure the data (for over 1 million cut flower stems graded, processed & dispatched daily) was accurately collected, recorded, and reported.
- Act as the HR liaison for over 1200 staff who worked on the two packhouses.
- Act as the IT business applications liaison for packhouse.
- Act as packhouse Finance liaison.
One minute I would be in a disciplinary and grievance hearing with the Union representative, the other strategizing how to roll out & optimize new applications, the other discussing budget, payroll, and cost reduction.
To manage all these tasks, I had to hate time-wasting repetitive tasks and always think of how to automate processes.
My love affair with data management & analytics had officially begun.
This affair was taken to full-blown when I joined the Base Titanium IT department as the Business Systems admin in 2013.
Being a start-up project then, I acted as a key resource for any technology integrations relating to business systems.
Beyond the integrations & vendor management, I was required to train staff on how to optimally use these applications.
In 2019, I was seconded to our sister organization Base Toliara in Madagascar to assist in HRIS implementation as well as identifying & automating business processes.
Why did you start Blogging?
On Dec 2015 I was looking for a space where I could share my teaching materials and also write down solutions that I had come across.
A blog met all my requirements and it has since then.
A blog was a space where I could enrich other people’s lives as I grew my skills.
If you are searching for such a space also, I can help you.
Click below
Why and How did you start Training?
If you check my career journey I started training as a job requirement and also as a way of saving time for myself and others.
Very early in my career, I realized that once your team & colleagues are data literate, you will have a simple and happy life.
So, as a “self-preserving” and “others-enriching” act, I have created a basic and advanced excel literacy course that I teach anyone who works around me.
If you want a simple & happy career (especially if you are in management) I would advise you to follow my steps.
Below are the course outlines of what I train. Use them to create a course or ask me for help.
Advanced Excel Training Outline
Are you a Cat Person or a Dog Person?
Both!
I have had a Cat and/or a Dog as a pet since I can remember.
I love them all.
Which Office Version Do You Use or Recommend?
I have used 2003 up to 2016 versions but none comes close to Office365.
No wonder Microsoft is pushing all its users to O365.
This could be the future of office.
What's your secret to success?
I love and follow Jim Rohn’s advice:
⭐ Embrace Failure…you will fail at something
⭐ Start…it is the only way to know if it is a success or failure
⭐ Learn Daily
How do you design Websites?
I usually use a requirement gathering form that a client fills as a guide.
Every page, Every Functionality, Every design is usually guided by that document in collaboration with the client.
What's your view on Power Automate & Power Apps?
Office365 Power Platform is a game changer in low-code app development.
If you have not tried building an power app you are missing a big part of the future.
Is There Anything You Don't Know About Excel?
No! Nothing
Just Kidding 😂
There is a lot I don’t know. This is why I endeavour to learn something new daily.
PS: No one knows everything to know about Excel.
Do You Do Consultation?
Yes, I take up tasks that my team and I can handle.
So, I have also partnered with ExcelRescue who have a bigger team that solves the following day-to-day issues:
- Data Visualization
- Dashboards
- Data cleansing
- Recover a Corrupt File
- Automating tasks
- Auditing spreadsheet mistakes
- e.t.c
ExcelRescue is a team of professional developers and project managers…I highly recommend them for small-budget tasks
What do you consider some of your biggest professional and personal accomplishments?
There are 3 professional achievements I am proud of:
* Increasing data Literacy among colleagues. This has boosted their confidence, and some have been promoted due to the skills attained.
* Automating reporting tasks, enabling my colleagues to spend more time with family or doing other things they love.
I once automated a report that used to take 1 week to only 30 minutes…below is how happy the staff was
* Teaching myself Web design and using the skill to enrich others’ life
I have 2 major ones:
*Starting this blog
* Being a dad
What issues can we contact you?
- I need an elegant, simple, branding website. And I need it like yesterday.
- I want myself or my staff trained in Excel so as to improve productivity.
- I want to sell my products/services online, can you take me through the process?
- I need a simple corporate email hosting Solution.
- I need my business process audited and optimized to ensure data is collected, stored, and analyzed efficiently.