Link to video

I ran a 90-minute workshop this morning, which started life as a 1:1 session. Around 10 people ended up coming, mainly from a couple of Slack channels - hence the “Hey Slackers…” intro.

Below is the email I sent afterwards with all of the links, etc. I’m posting it here for reference 😀

Thanks for joining this morning’s session, or for registering if you couldn’t make it. Here’s a recap of what we covered, plus the resources to help you get started.

What we did

We looked at how freelancers can use AI tools like Claude to build a business-development dashboard — a lightweight CRM and pipeline tracker that works for your specific situation, not some generic corporate workflow.

The conversation covered a lot of ground, with great contributions from everyone:

  • Separating your worlds — several people mentioned mixing client work, personal projects, and other commitments (one person had a part-time Masters degree in the mix) inside a single to-do list. A dedicated dashboard draws those lines clearly.
  • Tracking invoices and payments alongside pipeline activity — this came up as a popular request.
  • The “second brain” approach — capturing and evaluating ideas, not just managing active leads.
  • AI as a conversational partner — the key shift is thinking of it like onboarding a business development colleague who learns your context over time, rather than expecting a one-shot answer.
  • Environmental and ethical considerations — there was a thoughtful discussion about AI scepticism, resource usage, and how local LLMs work well for lighter tasks (restructuring text, for example), with remote tools better suited to heavier ones (like web scraping).
  • Keeping a dashboard updated — the question of maintaining a CRM built from an existing contacts export was live in the room. Cross-referencing with LinkedIn was one practical starting point.

Meta prompt The only really thing you need to remember is to give AI tools permission to ask you questions. One ‘meta’ prompt that I’ve come across which can be useful is:

Don’t answer my question yet.

First do this:

  1. Tell me what assumptions I’m making that I haven’t stated out loud
  2. Tell me what information would significantly change your answer if you had it
  3. Tell me the most common mistake people make when asking you this type of question Then ask me the one question that would make your answer actually useful for my specific situation rather than anyone who might ask this.

Only after I answer — give me the output

My question: [paste anything here]

Tools mentioned

A note on AI and ethics

One participant raised points worth sitting with: hallucinations, the concentration of money and influence in big tech, resource usage, and what we lose by outsourcing too much thinking. These are fair concerns. Start small, stay critical, and use local tools where they’re up to the job.