I'm a CEO who can't write code. In four months, I built dashboards, automated my inbox, and created interactive courses... all by typing sentences. Here's how.
I'm a software engineer who uses Claude Code exclusively for my actual work.
It's amazing.
I can build in 30 minutes what used to take me weeks of part time work writing code. Still gotta be careful though, AI is still slightly unpredictable.
Just over a week later and my work output is is unrecognisable. I’ve dealt with emails which sat there since November. I’ve automated processes I used to spend large parts of my week on. I’m making progress on important projects. I’m avoiding less, cracking on more, and it feels like this is just the beginning.
I am so grateful to you for doing this. Thank you!
Can’t wait to read this. I have yet to try Claude and there is so much information out there it’s difficult to filter out what is the best, how to properly program Claude, how to explain what I need it to do, etc.. Your comment caught my eye and I’m looking forward to reading it. I am about to launch a business and will need as much help as I can get to speed up workflows and content creation.
Honestly right now it’s knowing where to start and how to utilize Claude in the most effective way possible. There are so many different suggestions as to how to start programming Claude but I need to really focus on and decide what tools would be best and then move on implementing them. I’m a solo business owner launching 3 different brands while still holding my regular job - yikes !!! lol
Wow, 35 years like you running my own business. Doing everything my self except syntax (done by our developers). Now being retired and 71 years old I am following your articles and going to start being self sufficient moving forward. Lots of ideas in my head but lacking enough confidence in my skills to do this on my own.
So please keep the information coming and I am following in your footsteps. Many thanks Bob
The inbox example is the right entry point because it removes the 'I need to learn to code' barrier entirely. The cognitive shift that most non-technical people describe first isn't about code generation, it's realizing the agent can take actions while you're focused elsewhere. That's fundamentally different from a chat interface. What catches people off guard later is understanding what to delegate. The tool is capable of more than most people initially give it. Starting with something you actively hate doing gives you faster signal on what's worth handing off, which is a better learning loop than starting with something ambitious.
Saving this to read. If the following is true, I’m in! “Cowork can turn your strategy notes into a fully formatted board deck, build you a working financial model with sensitivity tables, or ship a custom ROI calculator as a live web page.”
Hi Michael. How does this tool preserve privacy and proprietary data? How do key insights on data manipulation that have been developed over decades not get leaked into the public domain? Even more simply, what rails are in place to ensure that everything seen and done on your computer, stays on your computer?
actually, I am one of the worlds global thought leaders on data warehousing and data analytics to improve profits of businesses. Basically my job was to help multi-billion dollar companies make more profit ethically. Maybe I will be able to do that job again one day for good money, who knows.
I have been thinking I might have to have a look at Claude at some point or other. I will put this post away and have a look after I am done with a high priority task.
I am actually migrating some old classroom training to video based training. It would have been nice if Claude or other AIs could have done portions of this because it's taken over 250 hours effort so far. I am guessing there is another 60-70 hours of effort to go. I thought it would only take me 200 hours in the beginning but it looks like being closer to 350 hours.
It's a shame AIs are no good at migrating training.
Today I use AI generated womens voice overs on my presentations because men listen to a womans voice longer than they listen to a mans voice.
Men will literally listen to any stupid rubbish said to them in a womans voice, so it's better that I present high quality blog posts in a womans voice.
Indeed, in this training I am creating there will be about 20 hours of video in the end, maybe 22 hours of video. All in a womans voice.
Slightly technical questions: if Claude code exists on your computer, does that mean the computational load is also on your computer? If so, what specs should a machine have, at minimum? Boils down to: can I set it up on an old machine (like: 2005ish laptop), separate it from my other devices (separate wireless, hard gapped from everything else), and give it a go?
Also, if it runs on our machines, what does it send and receive from Anthropic servers? (We do need a subscription - so I guess it's more than just a registration number exchange/DRM?)
This is a great question. If you’re using Claude Code or Codex, all the inference happens in a data center. So, you should be able to run them both on a lightweight laptop.
The only exception might be if you’re using them to execute a lot of processes on your machine, in which case, your machine will need to carry some of the weight
I'm a software engineer who uses Claude Code exclusively for my actual work.
It's amazing.
I can build in 30 minutes what used to take me weeks of part time work writing code. Still gotta be careful though, AI is still slightly unpredictable.
I’m loving it!
Excellent tutorial for starters - will share with all my people and certainly encourage to try Code (and terminal) instead if Cowork .
Woooo!
This article was my gateway to Claude Code.
Just over a week later and my work output is is unrecognisable. I’ve dealt with emails which sat there since November. I’ve automated processes I used to spend large parts of my week on. I’m making progress on important projects. I’m avoiding less, cracking on more, and it feels like this is just the beginning.
I am so grateful to you for doing this. Thank you!
Just soooo glad you found it helpful!
Can’t wait to read this. I have yet to try Claude and there is so much information out there it’s difficult to filter out what is the best, how to properly program Claude, how to explain what I need it to do, etc.. Your comment caught my eye and I’m looking forward to reading it. I am about to launch a business and will need as much help as I can get to speed up workflows and content creation.
That’s awesome!
What are you struggling with the most?
Honestly right now it’s knowing where to start and how to utilize Claude in the most effective way possible. There are so many different suggestions as to how to start programming Claude but I need to really focus on and decide what tools would be best and then move on implementing them. I’m a solo business owner launching 3 different brands while still holding my regular job - yikes !!! lol
Hey Tara, I know the feeling 🤣
How are you using AI across those brands?
you dont need node.js. see https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview for latest install instructions
Well, then.
I need to build a skill that auto-updates my Substack articles!
Wow, 35 years like you running my own business. Doing everything my self except syntax (done by our developers). Now being retired and 71 years old I am following your articles and going to start being self sufficient moving forward. Lots of ideas in my head but lacking enough confidence in my skills to do this on my own.
So please keep the information coming and I am following in your footsteps. Many thanks Bob
Thanks so much for your kind comment 🙏
Let me know how you get on
I’ve got another article coming on Skills very soon! Stay tuned :)
Tell me more about the family budgeting dashboard
What would you like to know?
The inbox example is the right entry point because it removes the 'I need to learn to code' barrier entirely. The cognitive shift that most non-technical people describe first isn't about code generation, it's realizing the agent can take actions while you're focused elsewhere. That's fundamentally different from a chat interface. What catches people off guard later is understanding what to delegate. The tool is capable of more than most people initially give it. Starting with something you actively hate doing gives you faster signal on what's worth handing off, which is a better learning loop than starting with something ambitious.
Great points here
Thanks!
very structured and insightful
So glad you found it helpful 🙏
The people winning with AI right now aren’t the ones asking random questions.
They’re building structured workflows that compound knowledge and sharpen decision-making over time.
Yes - agree!
Saving this to read. If the following is true, I’m in! “Cowork can turn your strategy notes into a fully formatted board deck, build you a working financial model with sensitivity tables, or ship a custom ROI calculator as a live web page.”
It absolutely is!
Let me know how it goes :)
Hi Michael. How does this tool preserve privacy and proprietary data? How do key insights on data manipulation that have been developed over decades not get leaked into the public domain? Even more simply, what rails are in place to ensure that everything seen and done on your computer, stays on your computer?
Thanks.
Anthropic claims data is anonymized and they give you the ability to turn off sharing, so that they don’t train their models with your data
Unfortunately, at the end of the day… it comes down to trust
Hi Michael,
actually, I am one of the worlds global thought leaders on data warehousing and data analytics to improve profits of businesses. Basically my job was to help multi-billion dollar companies make more profit ethically. Maybe I will be able to do that job again one day for good money, who knows.
I have been thinking I might have to have a look at Claude at some point or other. I will put this post away and have a look after I am done with a high priority task.
I am actually migrating some old classroom training to video based training. It would have been nice if Claude or other AIs could have done portions of this because it's taken over 250 hours effort so far. I am guessing there is another 60-70 hours of effort to go. I thought it would only take me 200 hours in the beginning but it looks like being closer to 350 hours.
It's a shame AIs are no good at migrating training.
I think you’d be surprised!
Hi Michael,
I wrote my first AI application in 1989.
When AI can do something useful for me?
I will use it.
Today I use AI generated womens voice overs on my presentations because men listen to a womans voice longer than they listen to a mans voice.
Men will literally listen to any stupid rubbish said to them in a womans voice, so it's better that I present high quality blog posts in a womans voice.
Indeed, in this training I am creating there will be about 20 hours of video in the end, maybe 22 hours of video. All in a womans voice.
Can this be done with Gemini instead of Claude?
Some of it, probably
Super helpful. Thank you.
🙏 Let me know how you get on!
Thank you. What happens to work you have done with Claude once you unsubscribe?
All the conversations live on your computer in the .claude folder. Anything you used Claude for during your subscription remains
Slightly technical questions: if Claude code exists on your computer, does that mean the computational load is also on your computer? If so, what specs should a machine have, at minimum? Boils down to: can I set it up on an old machine (like: 2005ish laptop), separate it from my other devices (separate wireless, hard gapped from everything else), and give it a go?
Also, if it runs on our machines, what does it send and receive from Anthropic servers? (We do need a subscription - so I guess it's more than just a registration number exchange/DRM?)
This is a great question. If you’re using Claude Code or Codex, all the inference happens in a data center. So, you should be able to run them both on a lightweight laptop.
The only exception might be if you’re using them to execute a lot of processes on your machine, in which case, your machine will need to carry some of the weight