Your First Hour with Claude CoWork

Most people who use AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude hit the same wall eventually. The answers are fine, but they’re generic. Every session starts from scratch. You explain your company, your clients, your pricing, your voice. Every single time.

The AI is useful. But it doesn’t know you.

On March 31, 2026, I ran a free one-hour session showing a different approach: using CoWork inside Claude’s desktop app to give AI a permanent understanding of your business. Below is the full replay, a summary of everything covered, and all the resources you need to try it yourself.

What Is Claude CoWork?

Claude Desktop has three modes built into the app: Chat, CoWork, and Code.

Chat is the chatbot most people already use. Each conversation starts fresh with no memory of previous sessions.

CoWork lets you point Claude at a folder on your computer. It reads whatever files are in that folder before every session starts. Your context is always loaded. You never re-explain your business again.

Code is the advanced version. Same AI, but it works directly on your computer’s file system and can connect to external tools and services. Most people should start with CoWork and move to Code when they’re ready for more.

The gap between Chat and CoWork is one file. A plain text file on your computer that Claude reads every time you open a session.

What We Covered in the Workshop

Part 1: Why most people hit a ceiling with AI

Before building anything, we talked about the core issue. AI conversations reset. You give good prompts and get decent output, but nothing compounds. Every session you’re back at zero.

Better prompts are not the solution. Context is.

When attendees were asked what they find themselves re-explaining to AI in every conversation, the answers were the same across the board: who I work with, how I price, what I’m trying to build, how I write.

Those answers belong in a file, not in a prompt.

Part 2: The three modes inside Claude Desktop

A quick visual walkthrough of Chat, CoWork, and Code, and when to use each. The short version:

• Chat: one-off questions, drafts, anything that doesn’t need business context

• CoWork: anything that should know who you are and how you work

• Code: automation, file management, external integrations

The session focused on CoWork because that’s where most non-developers should start.

Part 3: Building a CLAUDE.md file from scratch, live

The heart of the session was a live demo. I opened CoWork, pointed it at a fresh folder, and pasted this prompt:

Interview me about my business. Ask me 8-10 questions, one at a time. Cover: what my company does, who I serve, what I am known for, how I talk about my work, and what makes me different. After the interview, write a CLAUDE.md file that captures everything and save it to this folder.

Claude asked questions. I answered them on screen, narrating why I was answering the way I was. When the interview finished, Claude wrote the file and saved it to the folder.

Total time: about 18 minutes.

Then I ran two quick tests with the file active:

Test 1: “Draft a 3-sentence intro email to a prospective client.”

Test 2: “Write a LinkedIn post about a lesson I learned this year.”

The output was specific to my business, not a generic template. That’s what context does. Same AI. Same model. Completely different quality because Claude knew who I was.

Part 4: Where this goes

The CLAUDE.md file is the foundation. You add more files over time, each one making Claude sharper:

• Services file: what you offer, who it’s for, how you price it

• Voice file: how you write, words you use, words you never use

• Clients file: who you work with and what you’re doing for each

Same prompt pattern each time: “Interview me about [topic] so you can write a [filename].md file for me.”

For the first month, all you need is CLAUDE.md and maybe a voice file. Build those. Then add more as you identify what you’re repeating in sessions.

Part 5: Three rules to keep this working

1. You are smarter than AI about your business. Claude is a helper, not a guide. Tell it what to do. Correct it when it’s wrong about you.

2. Plan before you prompt. Know what you want to accomplish before you open a session. If you find yourself saying “every time I have to…” about a task, that task is a candidate.

3. Tell Claude when it repeats itself. Say “that should be in memory, save it.” Claude updates the file. You never edit anything manually.

Resources

Get set up:

• Claude Pro subscription: claude.ai ($20/month)

• Claude Desktop: claude.ai/download (free app, requires Pro subscription for CoWork)

Install Claude Code (enables the Code tab):

Mac: Open Terminal, paste curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash, press Enter

Windows: Open PowerShell, paste irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex, press Enter

More Resources

I write about building AI systems for small businesses in The Road Map, my monthly newsletter. Behind-the-scenes on what I’m building, what’s working, and what isn’t.

Subscribe to The Road Map

Kurt Schmidt is the founder of Schmidt Consulting Group, a GTM advisory firm for B2B companies. He has been building AI-powered business systems since 2024.