Playbook 002 · 00 · Start here
Set Up Claude AI for Your Business
Set Claude up once — account, privacy, connectors, memory and your first project — so every conversation starts with it already knowing your business.
Who it’s for · Business owners, VAs and team members setting Claude up for business use.
- First result
- About 30–45 minutes the first time
- The whole thing
- 5 modules
- What it costs
- $19 AUD
- Last verified
- 2026-04-28Version 1.0
The problem
Claude is the most useful AI tool we have ever set up for a small business — but only after the first 30 minutes of setup is done properly. This Playbook walks you through account creation, plan selection, connectors, memory, and your first project so Claude understands your operation from day one, not generic advice.
If you skip the setup, every conversation with Claude starts from scratch — generic answers, no context, no memory of what you've already explained. The work below takes thirty to forty-five minutes once. After that, every future conversation begins with Claude already knowing what your business does and how you talk to your customers.
Works in any browser (Chrome or Safari recommended), the Claude desktop apps and Claude mobile.
Outcomes
5, by the end
What you’ll be able to do
- Have a Claude account on the plan that fits how much you use it
- Check your privacy settings before any client information goes in
- Connect Google Drive, Gmail and Calendar to the right Google account
- Prime memory with your business context so you stop re-explaining yourself
- Set up your first project with instructions Claude reads every time
The method
5 steps, same every time
How to use this Playbook
Work through 01 to 04 in order, in one sitting if you can. Each one builds on the last.
Keep claude.ai open in another tab and do each step as you read it.
Where this Playbook says to check your plan or a settings screen, check it. Those details change several times a year.
If something doesn't behave, module T has the usual fixes.
Tick off 'What done looks like' once each signal is actually true.
The hard rules
They hold whatever the prompt says
What never happens
The rules that hold whatever the prompt says. If one of these is about to break, stop and do it by hand.
- Sensitive client information never gets pasted in without a privacy check. Medical records, legal disputes, full credit card numbers, banking logins — these don't go into AI conversations regardless of the privacy setting. Anonymise first or don't paste at all.
- The wrong Google account never gets connected to Claude. If you connect your personal Gmail by mistake, Claude can reach your personal inbox whenever a request uses the Gmail connector. It can also send from that inbox, though by default it asks you to approve each send first. Disconnect and reconnect with the business account before doing any client work.
- Project instructions never contradict business reality. If you tell Claude you're a luxury wedding photographer when you're actually a real estate photographer, you'll get luxury wedding output for the next six months. Be honest about what your business actually is.
Before you start
The modules
7 parts
Where everything is
5 modules to work through. Start at 01 — they build on each other.
- 01 · Pick a plan and set up your accountWhich plan to start on, which email to sign up with, and the privacy setting to read before any client information goes in.—
- 02 · Connect your Google toolsDrive, Gmail and Calendar, connected to the right account — and what to read before you click Allow.—
- 03 · Set up memorySwitch memory on, then give Claude your business context once so you stop re-explaining yourself.—
- 04 · Create your first projectOne workspace per client or focus area, each with instructions Claude reads before every conversation.—
- T · When things go sideways—
- D · What done looks like—
- C · Close—