How I Use Claude to Run a One Person Online Business

I use Claude to run the majority of my one-person online business: ideas, content, capturing and nurturing leads, and designing and delivering programmes. Not all of it, though. I always leave a small percentage for the human in the loop.

I walk you through how I use Claude to run a one-person online business, from setting up your account and connecting your apps, to projects, skills and the desktop app I use most. You can apply most of this to any AI model.

Key Takeaways

• Start on Claude's free plan, have a proper back-and-forth conversation so it understands your business, and only upgrade when you hit the limits.
• Group your repetitive tasks, give each group its own Claude project or skill, and let Claude do the heavy lifting on them.
• Claude Cowork on the desktop app is where I spend about 80% of my time, but I always review the output before anything is published.

Choosing the Right AI Model

If you're not getting the results you need, try a few models. Coming from ChatGPT, try Claude. Using Gemini without results, try Grok. As long as you're happy with the end result, use that model.

More and more, I've been using Claude for all my processes because I'm getting good results. If you're moving across from ChatGPT, my post on switching from ChatGPT to Claude shows you how to bring your memory with you.

Getting Started With Claude

Sign up for a free account at claude.ai. Then start a conversation and give it the information you want it to remember and work on.

If you're building a one-person business, ask Claude something like: "What do you need to know about me and my business to get a good picture of where I'm at and my future goals?" Then answer its questions.

Which Claude Plan Do You Need?

Start on the free plan, and only upgrade if you hit the limits. Here's how my own plan has changed:

1. I started on the free plan.
2. I quickly upgraded to the £18 a month plan, and soon ran out of that too.
3. I moved to the top tier of the Max plan, but never used those limits.
4. I've now dropped to the standard Max plan, and I'm not reaching its limits.

Set Up Your Settings

• Profile: give Claude your name and instructions on how you want it to work with you.
• Privacy: I switch off "help improve our AI models" and location metadata, so my data isn't used to train AI. That's personal preference.
• Memory: switch on "search and reference chats" and "generate memory from chat history", so Claude remembers across conversations.

Connect Claude to Your Business Apps

Under connectors, you can link Claude to the apps you already use. For me, Claude is the hub. It's connected to Canva, Descript, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Granola and Kajabi, the platform I've built my whole business on.

These connectors, also called MCPs, let Claude talk directly to your software. It can read my emails, help with design and help with video editing. I cover several of these tools in my post on the AI tools I actually pay for.

Build Skills for Repeated Tasks

Anything you do repeatedly can become a skill, so Claude knows exactly how to do it next time. My skills include YouTube topic research, turning a video into a blog post, my brand overview, and YouTube descriptions and tags.

Use Claude in Your Browser

I've also added the Claude extension to Chrome (search for "Claude" in the Chrome Web Store). Claude can then take actions in your browser for you.

For example, I asked it to read my homepage and give feedback on my messaging, spelling and design. It showed me its plan, I approved it, and I watched it scroll through the page. It then reported back with spelling and grammar fixes, gaps in my messaging and ideas for improvements. You could use the same approach for comparing prices or finding the best-value hotels for a trip.

Organise Your Work With Claude Projects

Before starting a chat, choose your model. They increase in capability, so pick based on how complex the task is. You can type, dictate or record a voice note, and the plus button lets you add photos, screenshots or link the chat to a project.

Projects are a great way to organise your chats. Each one has a description, its own memory and any files you add, so Claude remembers everything within that project. If there's a process you run regularly in your business, create a project for it. I explain the same idea for ChatGPT in my post on ChatGPT Projects.

How to find your first Claude projects:

1. At the start of the week, open a spreadsheet.
2. Every time you do a task you repeat regularly, write it down.
3. At the end of the week, group those tasks into bunches.
4. Create a Claude project for each group, with a description, instructions and the documents it needs.

Sooner or later, Claude will be doing most of the heavy lifting on those repetitive tasks.

Claude Desktop: Chat, Cowork and Code

To take it further, download the Claude desktop app. As well as Chat, it has two more modes.

• Claude Code: builds apps through conversation, often called vibe coding. Many of the AI tools you see appearing are built this way.
• Claude Cowork: sits between Chat and Code. It's fully agentic and more user-friendly, and it's the one I'd recommend for getting complicated projects done.

How I Use Claude Cowork

I use Cowork about 80% of the time. I still use Chat, and I don't use Code much. Cowork has projects like Chat, plus a few extras:

• Scheduled tasks: jobs Cowork runs on a schedule without me prompting it.
• Dispatch: chat to Cowork from your phone while you're away, as long as your computer is on.
• Customise: add connected apps, skills and plugins.

Cowork needs a folder on your computer to store its files, which act as its memory and reference material. Mine is a Claude project folder with everything I'm working on: my brand, content, Kajabi partner work, business growth and website. I use it as a sounding board to check I'm heading in the right direction.

Always Keep a Human in the Loop

Claude should do the heavy lifting: the work that takes you the most time. But don't hand it the reins end to end. I always add my own input and review the output before anything is published.

Conclusion

That's how I use Claude to run most of my one-person online business. Start on the free plan, set up your privacy and memory, connect your apps, and turn your repetitive tasks into projects and skills.

When you're ready, move to the desktop app and Cowork. Let Claude take the heavy lifting, keep yourself in the loop, and use the time you save to think about where your business is heading. For how this fits into the bigger picture, see the simplest one-person business setup.