Overview In this one-day course, students will be introduced to using the Claude Small Business plugin, which is a powerful automation bundle built directly into the Claude Cowork environment.
Description
Overview
In this one-day course, students will be introduced to using the Claude Small Business plugin, which is a powerful automation bundle built directly into the Claude Cowork environment. The course covers some of the conceptual underpinnings of AI agents, skills, and secure application connectors, but the emphasis is on leveraging these features to automate common small business workflows and eliminate back-office administrative overhead. Students will learn how to connect their existing business applications, run prebuilt operational skills via multiple interfaces, enforce strict human-in-the-loop security protocols, and build or customize their own automated workflows from scratch. This instructor-led course consists of a combination of lecture, demonstrations, and hands-on labs.
Software Used During the Class
The standard lab setup for this class consists of a PC or Mac with the Claude Desktop App installed, an active Claude Pro or Team subscription, and sandbox/test accounts for integrated core business applications (such as Google Workspace, QuickBooks, HubSpot, and Canva).
Audience
This course is intended for small business owners, operators, founders, freelancers, and consultants who have been using Claude Chat and Claude Cowork for text generation and are ready to take advantage of agentic workflows and practical back-office automation. Mastering the Small Business plugin is a very common “next step” for experienced Claude users.
Prerequisites
Prior experience with Claude Chat and basic familiarity with the Claude Cowork environment are required for this class. Students with at least some familiarity with standard SaaS business tools (like Gmail, HubSpot, or QuickBooks) will be better equipped to get the most out of the lab work.
Claude Small Business plugin features, skills, and connectors that are covered in this class include:
Prebuilt operational skills: Business Pulse, Friday Brief, Monday Brief, Invoice Chase, Close Month, Tax Prep
Supported application connectors: Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar), Microsoft 365, HubSpot, QuickBooks, PayPal, Stripe, Square, DocuSign, Apollo, LinkedIn, Canva
Workflow execution methods: Slash commands, natural language prompts, the Plus menu interface
Security and governance controls: Local folder permissions, "Ask before acting" mode, human-in-the-loop validation, Anthropic Trust Center guardrails
Customization and automation frameworks: The 3-question skill vs. plugin framework, recipe card vs. cookbook logic, persistent local project memory, custom skill development, autopilot task scheduling
Course Outline
Introduction to Claude for Small Business
What is the Small Business plugin?
The Claude desktop product suite: Chat, Cowork, Code, and Design
Why focus on Claude Cowork for business operations?
Installing the Small Business plugin
Setting up projects and workspace environments
Working with persistent local memory
Working with Connectors and Prebuilt Skills
Understanding skills versus plugins
The recipe card versus cookbook analogy
Overview of the core tool connectors
Connecting communication and productivity tools (Gmail, Google Calendar)
Connecting financial and payment apps (QuickBooks, PayPal, Stripe, Square)
Connecting sales and creative platforms (HubSpot, Canva, DocuSign, Apollo)
Security, Governance, and Human-in-the-Loop
The trust and data privacy problem in small business AI
Overview of the Anthropic Trust Center standards
Configuring folder permissions and data access
The "Ask before acting" operational mode
Designing mandatory human sign-offs
Managing multi-app data compliance
Executing and Managing Workflows
Three ways to run an operational skill
Using natural language instructions
Triggering workflows with slash commands
Navigating the Plus menu interface
Analyzing real-time operational readouts
Reviewing out-of-the-box skill executions
Customizing and Building Custom Skills
The 3-question framework: skill or plugin?
Modifying out-of-the-box prebuilt skills
Adapting workflows to custom business and tax rules
Designing a custom skill from scratch without code
Testing and debugging skill logic
Deploying tailored workflows to your team
Advanced Multi-App Automation and Autopilot
The Business Pulse and Friday Brief workflows
Automating month-end financial closing and invoice chasing
Streamlining client meeting prep (Calendar, LinkedIn, and Canva)
Automating sales prospecting and B2B outreach with Apollo
Turning workflows into scheduled tasks
Running business operations on autopilot
