If you're new here, the question we get more than any other is "how do I even start with Claude?" Start by teaching it about your business. Claude doesn't know your trade, your process, your pricing, or how you talk to customers until you tell it. The more context you give it upfront, the better everything it does for you gets, from quotes to emails to job descriptions. Attached is a PDF called "Teach Claude Your Business." It has 3 prompts you can copy, paste, and run right now to start building that context with Claude. Grab it, run the prompts, and let us know what Claude gives you back.

Problem: You ask Claude to build a proposal and your logo either doesn't show up, or shows up looking wrong. Solution: Using Claude Cowork, give it a dedicated folder to pull from. Claude reliably places your logo only when it has a specific folder to find it in. Create a folder called "logos," upload your logo there, and point Claude to it. Do the same with a saved proposal template, tell it "this is my standard proposal template, please follow this," and it'll fill in the job name, location, and estimate ID around your existing format. One member built a full proposal this way in about five minutes. Tool: Claude Cowork Try this: 1. Create a folder named "logos" and upload your logo file(s) to it 2. Point Claude Cowork to that folder when you ask it to build anything branded 3. Upload a proposal template to the same folder and tell Claude to follow it 4. Ask for a new proposal and check that the logo and format both land correctly. What's something branded you've asked AI to build that came back looking off? Drop it below.

Problem: A client sends you a link to the exact vanity or fixture they want. You're offering to source it as part of your pricing, but comparison shopping for a better price on that specific item takes time you don't have. Solution: Drop the product link straight into Claude chat and ask it to find the same item cheaper, or from a different retailer. You still charge your standard price to the client, you just source it for less. Tool: Claude Try this: 1. Next time a client sends a product link, paste it into Claude 2. Ask it to find the exact same item for less, across other retailers 3. Order from whichever source comes back cheapest 4. Keep the difference. Client pays the same, you keep more margin.  What's a product you're currently overpaying for because comparison shopping takes too long? Drop it below.

Problem: You ask Claude to build you an estimate template and it hands back something that looks polished: header, line items, markup, totals. But it doesn't know you're mostly service calls, that half your jobs are flat rate, or that after-hours pricing changes the whole number. So now you're patch working someone else's template to match how you actually price work. Solution: Give Claude the context before it builds anything. Instead of "build me an estimate template," tell it who you are and how your pricing actually works: your service mix, your flat rate calls, your after-hours rules. Then tell it exactly what you need out the other end, like one clean page a homeowner can approve, with the math kept separate so it's ready to export as a PDF. The difference is a generic sheet you'll spend a week reworking versus a template that already looks like your business. Tool: Claude Try this: 1. Before asking for a template, write out how your pricing actually works: service mix, flat rates, after-hours rules, anything that changes the number. 2. Tell Claude the exact outcome you want, down to the format: one page for the client, a separate math table for you. 3. Feed it three to five past estimates if you have them. Real examples beat a verbal description. 4. Once it's dialed in, save it. You'll build on it in the next step. What context are you leaving out when you prompt Claude for templates? Drop it in the comments.