Prepared for your Claude CoWork setup — April 2026

A custom business tool,
not a better chatbot

Most people use Claude like search — type a question, get an answer. The real unlock is turning it into a tool that knows your business, connects to your actual tools, and runs the workflows that eat your day.

Alexander Girardet

AI Engineer — Claude Code specialist

I build with Claude daily — not as an experiment, but as my primary operating environment. Claude Code, MCP servers, Projects, custom automation skills. I've set up this exact stack for my own workflows and for clients. The "Build + Teach" model is how I naturally work: I build the system, then make sure you understand every piece well enough to extend it yourself.

I've built this before

Here's one of my agent systems — an AI agent that manages CRM and ticketing operations autonomously. Same philosophy: connect to real tools, automate the repetitive work, keep the human in the loop for decisions.

For your engagement, the approach is the same — connect Claude to your actual tools and build workflows that handle the work you do every day. The difference is you'll understand every piece and be able to extend it yourself.

The difference setup makes

Same Claude subscription. Completely different experience.

Before: Claude as chatbot

You open Claude, type a question, get an answer. Every conversation starts from scratch. Claude doesn't know your business, your voice, your tools, or your priorities. You copy-paste context every time. It's useful, but it's manual.

After: Claude as business tool

Claude knows your company — SOPs, brand voice, product details, team structure. It reads your calendar, drafts emails in your voice, pulls data from your docs. Repeatable workflows run in seconds. You extend it yourself because you understand how it works.

What we set up together

Four layers, each building on the last. You learn each one as we build it.

Layer 1 — Foundation

Custom Claude Projects

Claude Projects loaded with your business context — SOPs, brand guidelines, product info, communication style. Every conversation starts with full knowledge of who you are and how you work.

Business Operations Customer Comms Weekly Planning Domain-Specific

Layer 2 — Integration

MCP Connections

Connect Claude to your actual tools. Not hypothetically — actually reading your calendar, pulling from your Drive, drafting in Gmail. Claude becomes a participant in your workflow, not a sidebar.

Google Drive Google Calendar Gmail Notion Slack Filesystem

Layer 3 — Automation

Custom Workflows

Repeatable workflows for your most time-consuming tasks. Morning briefings, email triage, meeting prep, content drafts, weekly reviews — tailored to how you actually work.

Morning Briefing Email Triage Meeting Prep Content Draft Weekly Review

Layer 4 — Advanced (if you want it)

Claude Code Automation

For workflows that benefit from full automation — scheduled tasks, file processing, multi-step pipelines. Only if you're comfortable going deeper. This is optional, not a requirement.

Scheduled Tasks Custom Commands File Processing Claude Code Desktop

How the engagement works

3-4 weeks of live sessions and async setup. You're involved in every step — this is Build + Teach, not just Build.

01

Workflow Audit

We map your daily and weekly tasks. What's repetitive? What eats time? What could Claude handle if it knew your business? This becomes the priority list for what we automate first.

02

Projects + Context

I set up Claude Projects loaded with your business context. You'll see the immediate difference — Claude goes from generic to deeply useful in one session. You learn how Projects work so you can create new ones.

03

MCP Connections

I connect Claude to your tools — calendar, email, docs, whatever you use daily. Live demo of each connection so you see what's possible and how it works under the hood.

04

Custom Workflows

We build your top 3-5 automated workflows together. Each one tailored to how you actually work, tested in real-time, documented so you can reproduce the pattern.

05

Handoff + Independence

Written guides, Loom walkthroughs, and a reference for extending everything yourself. Practice sessions where you build a new workflow with me watching. After this, you don't need me.

What you get

Configured workspace

Custom Claude Projects with your business context, MCP connections to your tools, and 3-5 automated workflows for your most repetitive daily tasks. Ready to use from day one.

Live walkthroughs

Every setup decision explained in plain language. You understand the why and the how — not just what buttons to press, but what's happening and why it works this way.

Reference guide

Written documentation + Loom walkthroughs for adding new Projects, connecting new MCP servers, and building new workflows independently. You're not dependent on anyone after this.

Practice sessions

Guided sessions where you build a new workflow yourself with me there to help. The goal is confidence — you should feel comfortable extending the setup on your own.

Timeline & investment

Weeks 1-2

Foundation

Workflow audit, Claude Projects setup, first MCP connections, first 2-3 workflows. ~12-15 hours.

Weeks 3-4

Expansion + Handoff

Remaining workflows, documentation, practice sessions, reference guide. ~10-15 hours.

Total engagement

22-30 hours · $55/hr

If you save 1.5 hours/day on tasks Claude handles, the engagement pays for itself in the first month.

Want to get started?

Reply on Upwork and I'll send over a walkthrough of my own Claude setup — Projects, MCP connections, daily workflows.

Happy to jump on a quick call to hear what your day-to-day looks like and where Claude fits.