You're the owner. You watched a chatbot write something that sounded like it was for someone else. That's not because you picked the wrong model. It's because the model has never read how you make money or who actually pays you. Every session starts from zero. It does not know you don't discount crown fees. It does not know you don't bid apartments. Until that lives in a file the tool can see every time, you are paying for autocomplete with manners.
This playbook installs two plain files — company.md and customer.md — plus a short never-list so the helper cannot invent a package or email a patient alone. You get a filled HVAC example, a blank dental pack, and a blank law pack. You update them on Monday. You default to buying tools. You build custom software only after a cheap loop already works. There is a one-page "do not build" checklist at the end. Use it when a vendor (or your own boredom) wants a portal with your logo.
Effectiveness: the draft talks about the thing you actually sell. Efficiency: you stop re-explaining the shop every morning. Quality: it sounds like you, and it refuses the claims that would get you a bad review or a complaint.
Who this is for
Dental, HVAC, law, agencies, multi-location retail. You have already pasted the same "we're a family business" paragraph into ChatGPT twelve times. You may also have a wishlist titled "custom AI." That list waits until these files exist and a $20 loop has been used for real.
What done looks like
company.mdandcustomer.mdin a folder you own. HVAC version filled. Dental and law versions filled from the blanks, if that's you.- A ten-line decision file: human sends, no filing, no diagnosis, no invented price.
- Monday: 20 minutes, files updated from last week's corrections.
- "Do not build" checklist used on the next custom quote. Default is buy/configure.
Time and tools
Three hours once. Twenty minutes Mondays. A folder. A paid chat seat. No developer. No "brain" that swallows ten years of email.
Prerequisites
Owner writes company.md. Not the marketing intern. Office manager (or whoever hears the phone) writes customer.md from last week's real phrases. If you would not want a line in a customer email, it does not go in the file. Treat the pack like it could leak.
Step 1 — Write company.md (how the shop makes money)
Why. About pages lie. This is the operating truth: what pays the bills, who you won't serve, how cash arrives, what you refuse to be. Be rude on paper so the model isn't rude in public.
Clicks. New doc company.md. Owner fills it. Use the HVAC filled example as the shape. Do not paste awards, founding myths, or "excellence."
HVAC filled example (hypothetical shop — rewrite every bracket)
# company.md — Northside Heating & Air (HYPOTHETICAL)
## What we sell (this quarter's real engine first)
1. Service diagnostics and repairs (the daily engine)
2. Replacements / change-outs (where the year is made)
3. Maintenance plans (route density, not a hobby)
We do not sell "comfort as a lifestyle." We sell heat, cool, and a straight number.
## Who we serve
Single-family and small residential, north of the river, zips we actually run on the board.
We do not do rooftops over two stories, we do not bid apartment turnovers, we do not chase the cheapest Google ad for "emergency AC $69."
## How cash arrives
Card or check on the truck for diagnostics/repairs. Replacements often financed; we do not pretend a verbal "just do it" on a change-out is a job. Maintenance is billed on the plan calendar. Net-30 commercial is not our default and we do not want it to be.
## What we believe that changes a decision
Show the number before we start. Don't scare-sell a condemned unit if a repair is honest. Don't bid against a number we haven't seen. Don't promise same-day install in July unless the board says we can.
## What we refuse to be
Not the cheapest. Not a call-center voice. Not a company that leaves "misc. materials" on an estimate. Owner owns exceptions over $X. Office manager owns the calendar. Dispatcher owns the pin.
## Tools we already pay for
[Jobber / ServiceTitan / Google Voice / Gmail]. Default: use these. Do not recommend a new platform until a loop works in these.
## Claims we never make
"Tech there in 20 minutes." "Same-day install." "We'll beat any quote." Invented reviews. Prices the price book doesn't have.
Definition of done. One to two pages. A stranger could not confuse you with the shop that will bid anything. Tools you already pay for are named.
Step 2 — Write customer.md (how they buy, not a persona poster)
Why. "Suburban Sarah, 42, values convenience" is useless. Write the words the front desk already hears.
Clicks. Office manager writes this from voicemail and last week's calls. Steal phrases. Do not invent income brackets.
HVAC filled example (hypothetical)
# customer.md — who actually pays us (HYPOTHETICAL)
## Trigger
It's 82 in the house and the unit is blowing warm. Or the system is 15 years old and a repair quote just landed. Or the spouse said "just call someone."
## What they will admit
Price. How long until someone is in the driveway. Whether we are licensed. Whether we make a mess.
## What they often won't admit
They already called two other companies. They are afraid of being upsold. They don't know if they are the owner or the tenant. They need to talk to a spouse before a replacement.
## Objections in their language
"That's more than my neighbor paid."
"Can you just tell me on the phone?"
"Do I have to be here?"
"Can you come tonight?"
## Questions they always ask
How soon can you get here? Do I need a new system? What if I do nothing until spring? Is financing real or a trick? Will you match the online quote?
## What actually decides yes
Who can be in the driveway today (repair). A number they can repeat to a spouse, plus a warranty they can say out loud (replacement). A human who called back. Not "our brand."
## Fears
Being upsold. A lien. Missing pickup because we ran long. A review war if it goes badly. Looking foolish on a $14,000 decision.
## Do not put in a text
Psych profiles. Guessed income. Clever nicknames. Anything creepy if Mrs. Chen saw it. We may remember she prefers morning visits. We may not build a novel about her.
Definition of done. You can hear your phone in the file. Objections are sentences they actually said.
Step 3 — Blank dental pack and blank law pack (fill these, don't borrow HVAC)
Why. A dental office and a PI firm should not share a company file. Copy the headings. Write your truth.
Blank dental
# company.md — [PRACTICE NAME]
## What we sell (order that pays)
Hygiene / recare:
Restorative we actually want more of:
High-ticket treatment we want more of:
What we refer out:
## Who we serve
Geography:
Families / adults / both:
We are not: (Medicaid mill? luxury spa? same-day veneers off a reel?)
## How cash arrives
Insurance billed later vs card-on-file vs same-day patient portion:
What we do when a statement becomes a fight:
## Beliefs that change a decision
We explain out-of-pocket without shame.
We do not: [scare-sell / promise insurance covers everything / diagnose by email]
## Refuse to be
Claims we never make: insurance covers everything; it won't hurt; same-day veneers we saw on a reel; fabricated Google reviews.
## Who owns what
Office manager owns the calendar.
Owner owns exceptions over $___ and anything clinical in public.
Front desk owns: [ask / don't ask / wait] on reviews.
## Tools we already pay for
[Open Dental / Dentrix / Weave / ...]. Default: use these.
# customer.md — [PRACTICE NAME]
## Trigger
(I haven't been in three years and I'm nervous / tooth pain / kid / transfer)
## Admit / won't admit
Admit:
Won't: (fear, embarrassment, they already called another office)
## Objections
"Will insurance cover it?"
"Do I have to come in?"
[add yours]
## Always-ask questions
Will it hurt? How soon? What do I bring? How long will I be numb / out of work?
## What decides yes
Who explained the out-of-pocket without shame. Who had a morning slot. Who didn't make them sit 40 minutes.
## Fears
Pain. Being upsold. A lecture. Missing school pickup. A bad review they feel stuck writing.
## Never in a patient text
Diagnosis, "your x-ray looks fine," clinical advice, a promised wait we can't keep, creepy persona language.
Blank law
# company.md — [FIRM NAME]
## Matters we take (this quarter)
We take:
We refer out:
We do not take: (every angry "I want to sue")
## Who we serve
Geography / venue:
How they find us:
## How cash arrives
Consult fee or not:
Retainer:
We never: promise a result to get a card.
## Beliefs that change a decision
We don't promise court outcomes.
Conflict check is human. Always.
Incomplete intake does not get a consult checkmark.
## Refuse to be
TV-lawyer voice. "We will win." Advice by email. Auto-filing. Public case recaps on Google.
## Who owns what
Intake coordinator owns the queue.
Attorney owns: conflict, advice, anything to the other side, anything a court will read.
## Tools we already pay for
[Clio / PracticePanther / Gmail / ...]. Default: use these.
# customer.md — [FIRM NAME]
## Trigger
(I got a letter and I don't know if it's serious / accident / landlord / contract)
## Admit / won't admit
Admit: they want to know if it's worth a consult.
Won't: they already talked to two firms; they're embarrassed; they want a fight more than a result.
## Objections
"Can you just tell me on the phone?"
"How can it cost that if it's simple?"
"Will I have to go to court?"
## Always-ask questions
How soon can we talk? Do I have to pay today? What do I bring? What have I already filed?
## What decides yes
Who called back before lunch. Who explained the next step without a speech. Complete intake.
## Fears
Looking foolish. A lien. Talking to the other party. A public Google description of their matter.
## Never in a client email from a bot
Legal advice, outcome claims, "you're clear" on conflicts, anything to opposing counsel, recap that includes advice.
Agencies: one pack per client or the helper will mix voices. Multi-location retail: one company file, a short overlay per store (hours, SKUs that store never carries, manager name), one customer file if the buyer is the same person.
Definition of done. Your vertical's blanks are filled. HVAC owners still have Step 1–2 files, not these.
Step 4 — Decision rules so it never acts alone
Why. This is the file shops skip and the one that keeps you out of trouble.
# decisions.md
1. Customer-facing message (text, email, review reply, estimate cover): model drafts, human sends. Never auto-send to a patient, client, or homeowner.
2. Filing, submitting, signing (court, insurance claims, prescriptions, change orders): model may checklist. Human submits.
3. Diagnosis, legal conclusion, or a price not in the offer/price rules: say we don't know, flag a human.
4. If the name, record, or matter is not in the prompt, do not guess.
5. PHI, full case file, or card data does not go in a random chat tool. Use the system we already pay for.
6. If two rules collide, ask the owner. Do not "be helpful."
7. No fake Google reviews. No invented proof.
8. After-hours booking may only use OPEN slots (see calendar-rules.md). No overbook.
9. Default buy/configure. Do not recommend custom software in a draft reply to me unless I ask.
10. If the output would sound wrong read aloud at the front desk, rewrite or stop.
Definition of done. Ten rules, pinned at the top of every prompt: "read company.md, customer.md, decisions.md first."
Step 5 — Attach the pack and keep it true on Monday
Why. Files compound. Chat windows don't. A Monday ritual is how last week's "never say delighted / never discount / always ask gate code" gets into this week's draft.
Clicks.
- Folder:
shop-context/with the three files. Optional:voice.mdwith three GOOD emails and three BAD, labeled. - Claude Project (or a ChatGPT custom GPT / a Gemini Gem): upload the folder. Instructions: "Always read these files first. Never ignore decisions.md."
- Start the next real job with "read the files first, then draft [recare text / estimate follow-up / review reply / intake summary]." One job. If it's generic, the file is vague. Tighten refusals. Add a real example.
- Monday 20 minutes (print this):
MONDAY CONTEXT — 20 MIN — owner + office manager
- Paste last week's three corrections into the right file (voice, claims, objection)
- Delete anything we wouldn't want in a customer email
- Confirm tools-we-already-pay-for is still true (did we actually start using the texting add-on?)
- Do not add a fourth file unless a loop proved it needs one (warranty language, fee schedule, store overlay)
- Run ONE sample draft. If it still sounds like a billboard, fix company.md or customer.md, don't buy a new model
I would not fine-tune anything. I would not dump ten years of mail into a "brain." Two files plus decisions is enough to stop generic.
Definition of done. The project has the files. Monday is on the calendar. One live workflow is using them.
Step 6 — Default buy. Custom only after a cheap loop. Do-not-build checklist.
Why. Most shops need a workflow, not a product. A $20 seat plus a one-page SOP will beat a science project nobody opens on Tuesday. Custom starts to make sense only when the bottleneck is clicking, not thinking — and only where the shop's way of working is the actual advantage.
Clicks. Take the next vendor quote or the next "we should build an agent" idea. Run this page. If it fails, you don't build. You buy, or you write an SOP, or you do nothing.
One-page "do not build" checklist
DO NOT BUILD IF ANY OF THESE ARE TRUE
[ ] We do not have company.md + customer.md + decisions.md in use on a real weekly job
[ ] A $20 seat and a one-page SOP could get ~70% of this in two weeks
[ ] The PMS / dispatch / practice / POS we already pay for already does this and we never turned it on
[ ] We want AI because the last software install failed and we'd like a prettier failure
[ ] Nobody is named as the person who will run this every Tuesday
[ ] There is no human checkpoint before email / file / charge / diagnose / post a review
[ ] We cannot name the door: money, time, or customer experience — and how we'll notice in 30 days
[ ] The request is auto-file, auto-diagnose, auto-email a patient, auto-publish a legal letter, or fake reviews
[ ] Data lives in four spreadsheets and the owner's head
[ ] We have not run the cheap loop by hand long enough to know if people will use it
BUILD A SMALL HELPER ONLY IF ALL OF THESE ARE TRUE
[ ] Cheap loop already used for real (weeks, not a demo)
[ ] Bottleneck is now clicking, not thinking
[ ] Our way of working is the advantage a generic tool keeps flattening
[ ] Data lives in one place we can actually connect, or we will clean it
[ ] Human checkpoint is designed in
[ ] Scoreboard named
[ ] Someone owns it after month one (the owner or a paid operator — not "the team")
EVEN THEN: smallest spine. A button that parks a draft in the doc the office manager already uses.
NOT a platform with users, permissions, a mobile app, and a roadmap. You don't want to run that company.
Buy/configure examples (do these first). HVAC: dispatch board + estimate software + $20 chat + SOP for first-draft estimates. Dental: recall list you already have + recare script + human send. Law: better intake form + transcription + checklist; not an "AI associate" that files. Agency: prompt + folder + Friday status note. Retail: POS + shared sheet + store-level text.
Hypothetical, labeled. Office manager spends 45 minutes turning tech notes into an estimate email. SOP: paste notes, attach price rules, never discount, permit line on change-outs. Model drafts in four minutes, she edits five. That's the loop. Custom might later read photos from a folder you already drop files into. Custom is not an agent that books the install and orders parts.
Definition of done. The checklist lives in the same folder as company.md. The next custom quote got this page before it got a yes.
Hypothetical worked example
Hypothetical. Not a client.
Four-location idea, but they start with one HVAC shop. Owner writes company.md on a Thursday night (the filled example, rewritten). Office manager writes customer.md from a week of "can you just tell me on the phone." They add decisions.md. Claude Project gets the folder. First job: estimate follow-up drafts only. Week two the model offers 10% off. They don't do that. Monday they add "never discount" to company.md. Week three the draft asks for the gate code without being told — because Monday put it in.
A vendor pitches a custom "AI dispatcher OS." They run the do-not-build checklist. Cheap loop isn't even a month old. PMS already has dispatch. No Tuesday owner named for a new app. They don't build. They buy nothing. They keep the SOP.
Dental branch of the same hypothetical: recare texts from customer.md language, never a diagnosis. Law branch: intake summaries, never an email to the other party. Same two files, different refusals.
Failure modes
Marketing intern writes company.md. You get the About page again. Owner writes it.
Persona posters. Age brackets you guessed. The model will write like a textbook.
Dumping ten years of email. You scaled gossip and PHI risk. Two pages beat a junk brain.
No Monday ritual. The files rot. The helper offers 10% off forever.
Building first. Portal with your logo while missed calls still hit voicemail. Effectiveness failed.
Auto-send because "the files are good now." Files don't get a license to email a patient.
FAQ
Isn't this just a brand book? No. Brand books say excellence. These files say what you refuse, how cash arrives, and the sentence the front desk actually hears.
Do I need offer.md and voice.md too? Need: company, customer, decisions. Voice examples help review replies and texts. Offer/claims-to-avoid belongs in company.md until it outgrows it. Don't build a wiki.
Can I put patient or client records in the folder? No. Patterns and phrases. Not Mrs. Chen's chart. Not a matter file. Use the system you already pay for when the work needs a record.
When do we actually build software? After the cheap loop works, the bottleneck is clicking, and the checklist's second half is all true. Even then, a small helper. Not a product company.
Screen-recording outline (9–12 minutes)
- 0:00–0:40 — "Your AI is dumb because it doesn't know how you make money. Two files. Default buy. Don't build yet."
- 0:40–3:30 — Fill HVAC company.md live from the template. Read the refuse-to-be paragraph out loud.
- 3:30–5:30 — customer.md from fake voicemail phrases. Kill "Suburban Sarah."
- 5:30–7:00 — Show blank dental + blank law headings. Fill one refusal line on each.
- 7:00–8:30 — Upload to a Claude Project. Draft an estimate follow-up. Show it trying a discount; add never-discount; re-draft.
- 8:30–10:30 — Walk the do-not-build checklist on a fake "AI dispatcher" quote. Fail it. Monday 20-minute sheet. Close: "free Mini Margin Check to build the pack in a room. $1,500 Margin Scan if you have a custom wishlist you want sorted. No free audit."