Work with Josh

Make complex data easier to understand.

You already have people working hard to produce the numbers. I help with the last mile between the data and the human beings reading it. Dashboards, reporting systems, or figuring out whether the work belongs in Excel, Power BI, or somewhere else.

Excel dashboard by Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer showing sales progress, conversion by network, and product mix
Built in Excel.Sales, conversion, and product mix in one dashboard.
Microsoft Excel MVP
~1MExcel files downloaded
485K+TikTok followers
$5K+Typical project minimum
Where I fit

Different jobs. One design problem.

The common thread isn’t “Excel help.” It’s making complex work easier to understand and easier to keep consistent. I’ve seen millions of dollars spent on incredible analysis that never gets used because nobody thought about how to communicate it.

Strategy & tool decisions · From $5,000

Data communication & reporting strategy

Who needs this report? What decisions should it help them make? I help you work that out, then decide whether the work belongs in Excel, Power BI, another platform, or a mix.

Describe the decision →
From $5,000

Dashboard & report redesign

You have a working report. The problem is everything around it: hierarchy, layout, charts, branding. Or the fact that nobody knows what matters.

See redesign work →
From $5,000

Reporting design systems

Colors, type, spacing, charts, components, and page structures your team can reuse instead of redesigning every file.

See design systems →
From $5,000

Custom Excel builds

A bespoke template or reporting product built around your organization’s actual data and workflow, plus the audience and decisions it needs to serve.

See custom builds →
From $20,000

Spreadsheet to software

The workbook that runs your business, rebuilt as a web app and verified against the workbook's own calculations before you switch.

See how builds work →
Company use

Team & multi-use licensing

A real organization or department needs the library across multiple people, or an agency wants it for recurring client projects. Tell me the actual use and I’ll quote the right license.

Ask about a license →
Events & teams

Speaking and workshops

Excel design, reporting, visualization, and the uncomfortable truth about what should (and shouldn’t) move into BI tools.

Describe the audience →
Brand partnerships

Sponsorships

Reach a large, specific professional audience through useful content with an honest approach to short-form view volatility.

See partnership details →
Proof

Here’s the kind of before and after I mean.

I’ve helped brands like Microsoft, Kellogg’s, Philips, and Novo Nordisk, and I’m a 3× Microsoft Excel MVP.

Before
After

Before and after from a report redesign. Select either image to take a closer look.

FIT

I’m not the emergency formula guy.

The best projects already have a real business owner and a useful reporting job. Enough of the logic works that you know what the product needs to do. I can help rethink the structure and build the design layer. If the actual problem is broken VBA, a data warehouse, or a Power Query repair, I’m probably not the right person. I’m also not the right person if you’re hunting for the cheapest pair of hands.

Fit check

Save both of us the wrong call.

This is probably a fit

  • The report matters beyond your own desk: leadership, customers, a whole team
  • The data exists, communication and usability are the problem
  • You need help with how data is communicated, not just how it is calculated
  • You have an owner and a real decision to support, plus at least a $5,000 project budget

This is probably not

  • You’re after ongoing general Excel support, or the real project is data engineering
  • You need emergency same-day formula help (that’s a different job)
  • The brief is only “make it pop” with no user or decision in mind
  • You’re mass-emailing freelancers and shopping only on price

What happens next

  1. 01Fit checkI read your inquiry and reply by email within a few days.
  2. 02ScopeIf it looks like a fit, we work through the audience, existing work, and constraints.
  3. 03ProposalYou get the approach, deliverables, timing, and a fixed price before work begins.
Qualified inquiry

Start with the short version.

A reporting problem, a tool decision, a custom build, a workshop: you don't need a workbook to ask. Tell me what you're trying to improve, who it's for, and your timing and budget.

No files needed for this first message. NDAs and procurement can come after that first email. Please don't send confidential information here.

Project work: full design and consulting engagements typically start at $5,000.
Team licensing: organizational pricing sits above the individual Everything Bundle. Tell me the number of people and how the files will be used. This isn’t a discount code for one copy.
Fastest path: email me at cottrell@hey.com - I reply there within a few days too.

What are you trying to make better?

This form is for data communication, reporting, design, workshops, licensing, and other project inquiries. Links and screenshots can come later.

Please remove confidential, regulated, or sensitive information. If the project is a fit, we can handle files and formal requirements later.

That’s enough to start.

Your inquiry was submitted. If I can help, or if I can quickly tell that I’m the wrong person, I’ll reply by email within a few days.