Instructions taught Claude how to behave. Files teach it what's true: your prices, your policies, your services. Load them once and lesson 1's "it doesn't know your business" stops being true inside this Project.
The starter file list
Upload what you find yourself retyping. For most small businesses that's a short list:
Price list or service menu. The single most-repeated set of facts in your business.
Policies. Cancellations, refunds, warranties, hours, service area.
A plain-English description of what you do. Two paragraphs on services, customers, and what makes you different.
Your SOPs from workflow 2. They're already written. Now every chat can reference how you actually do things.
Your winning quote from workflow 6. The example is permanent now.
A short FAQ. The ten questions customers actually ask, with your real answers.
Don't have some of these written down? You have a course full of workflows that write them. The FAQ is one voice note away.
Prove it works, then find the gaps
The test prompt
Using only the files in this Project, answer this customer question: {a real question you got this week}
If the files don't fully cover it, tell me exactly what's missing instead of filling the gap yourself.
The gap finder
Look at the files in this Project. What common customer questions or everyday tasks would these files NOT be able to answer? List the gaps, most important first.