A plain-English setup guide for using Claude like a teammate who knows your business, not a search bar you type questions into. Set it up once, hand it real work, and get hours of your week back.
the setup I wish someone had shown me
I spent 10+ years running cafés and shops: managing teams, building schedules, doing the ordering, posting on social at 11pm. Then I took a job where I had to learn AI fast, with no real training and nobody to ask.
I learned the basics online and was starting to get the hang of it. But my setup was a mess. Every chat started from zero and my files lived everywhere. I didn't know what GitHub was, and I wasn't touching code.
Then my boss learned about GitHub. Instead of showing it to me, he said, "Open up your Claude. Let me see if you're doing it wrong." It was just the two of us, but that's not how anyone wants to be shown something new.
Around the same time, a friend of mine had a really organized workflow. Seeing it, I started cleaning up my own setup to match: one place for everything about the work, instructions Claude follows every time, and asking for the finished thing instead of advice. Now it's organized, and it works the way it should.
This guide is that setup, written for business owners. You don't need to be techy, and you don't need GitHub or code for any of it. You need about an hour and the stuff you already know about your business.
Now I help small business owners set this up in their own businesses. If you'd rather do it together, book a free Strategy Session any time.
— Elena
Most people use Claude the first way. All the time savings live in the second.
| Using it like a chatbot | Using it like a teammate |
|---|---|
| Re-explain your business in every chat | It already knows your prices, hours, policies and voice |
| Ask for tips, then do the work yourself | Ask for the finished thing: the schedule, the post, the checklist |
| Copy and paste the answer into another app | It makes the doc, spreadsheet or file for you |
| Sounds like a robot wrote it | Sounds like you on a good day |
| One question at a time | Hand off a whole task and check the result |
If your prices live in three places and your closing steps live in your head, start there. The setup below makes you write those things down once, and that alone saves time.
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Claude has three plans for individuals, and you pay Anthropic (the company that makes Claude) directly. Here's what each one gets you and who it's really for.
You can follow the setup in this guide on the free plan. Pro is where it starts to feel like a real teammate.
Good for getting your feet wet. You can do a lot of the basics here: set up your profile, build a small Business Brain, try skills and connect an app. You'll hit usage limits sooner, and there's no coding.
Worth it even if you're not on it every day. You get a lot more room to work, plus Claude Code, which lets you build your own small tools, like a pricing calculator or a booking page, without knowing how to code. About $17/month if you pay yearly.
Only if you're maxing out Pro all the time. If you keep hitting your Pro limits week after week, Max gives you a lot more room. There's no need to start here.
Claude's prices and plans as of October 2026, from claude.com/pricing. Check there for the latest. Business teams can also look at Claude's Team plan.
There's a model picker in every chat. Leave it on the default and switch only when the job calls for it.
Do these in order. Steps 1 and 2 take under an hour and do most of the work. Anything that looks like a [highlighted blank] is where your own details go.
In Claude's settings, turn on memory and web search. Then find the spot that asks what Claude should know about you, and paste this in with your details. Now every chat starts knowing who it's talking to.
I own [business name], a [type of business] in [city]. I've run it for [X] years. Most of my customers are [who they are]. I'm busy. Give me short, practical answers I can use today, no fluff. When you write as me, sound [3 words, like: warm, direct, a little funny]. If you need more info, ask me a question instead of guessing.
A Project is a folder Claude reads before it answers. Make one called "Business Brain" and add these files. Rough notes are fine. A typed list in a doc is fine.
Then paste this into the project's instructions:
You're the operations assistant for [business name]. Before you answer, check the files in this project: About Us, Prices and Hours, Policies, Our Voice, Top Questions. Always use our real prices and policies, write in our voice, and keep it short. If something isn't in the files, ask me. Don't make it up. When I ask for something I'll use (a schedule, a post, a checklist), make the finished thing, not advice about it.
A skill is a recipe card Claude follows every time a certain job comes up, so you stop typing the same instructions. Start with something you do every week. Review replies are a good first one.
The easy way: do the job once in a chat, get it how you like it, then say "turn what we just did into a skill." Or write one yourself. It's just a short text file you upload in Claude's settings under Skills.
--- name: review-replies description: Use when I paste a customer review from Google, Yelp or Facebook and need a reply. --- # Review replies for [business name] 1. Thank them by first name if it's given. 2. Mention one specific thing they said. 3. If they had a problem, own it in one sentence, no excuses, and invite them to email [your email]. 4. Keep it under 70 words. 5. Sign off as "[your name], owner". Give me two versions: one short, one warmer.
A connector lets Claude look inside an app you already use, like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Notion or Canva. Once it's connected, you can say "find the email from my linen vendor" or "what does my week look like?" and Claude goes and checks, so you stop copying and pasting things in.
The first time Claude uses a connector, it asks permission. Choose Allow once while you're getting comfortable, and Always allow once you trust how it's using it.
This is where it clicks. Instead of asking a question, hand over a job the way you'd hand it to a good employee: what the job is, what done looks like, and what to use. Claude can come back with an actual doc, spreadsheet, checklist or slide deck you can open and edit.
The job: [what you need done] Done looks like: [the finished thing: a spreadsheet, a one-page doc, 5 captions…] Use: [my Business Brain files, this attachment, my calendar] Before you start, ask me anything you need to know.
stuck on a step?Setting this up is exactly what we do in a Strategy Session. Bring your laptop and we'll build your Business Brain together.Book a free Strategy Session
Pick the part of your week that eats the most time and start there. Run these inside your Business Brain project so the answers use your real details.
Here's what a full hand-off looks like. Each one takes about 20 minutes the first time and less after that.
For: a café, shop or studio with one day that always drags.
one afternoon of work, done before lunch
For: anyone with a team who's still building the schedule at midnight.
you go from builder to editor
For: the owner who knows it's busy but isn't sure it's profitable.
check the math. always check the math.
want to run one with me?We'll do it on your real numbers and your real week, and you'll leave with the finished thing.Book a free Strategy Session
One small thing a day, about 15 minutes. Tick them off as you go. Your progress stays saved in this browser.
made it to day 30?Let's look at what's working and pick your next fix. Or skip the 30 days and we'll set it up together.Book a free Strategy Session
Pick a time that works for you. Start with the free Strategy Session if you're not sure which one you need.