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Run a one-woman shop with a Claude project for each department and a monthly AI chief-of-staff recap
Sara Russell, founder of Mainland Vintage, a bath and body boutique in Brooklyn, as told to Business Insider
Since February 2026 she has run separate Claude projects on the $20/month plan for marketing, sales, finance and product development, each told to defer to her as CEO. The 'CFO' project interprets sales analytics but makes no decisions, a marketing chat handles Instagram strategy, and an AI 'chief of staff' compiles a monthly recap across the departments. She doesn't use AI for visual design.
From $17/mo (checked prices)
Easy · or we do it from $149/mo
Claude
The problem
As a solo founder she covers marketing, sales, finance and product development herself.
What happened
Self-reported: 'Seventy-five percent of the stuff I'm doing now with Claude, I wouldn't have been able to do before.' She stays on the $20 plan so the usage limit keeps her mindful, and says she would rather hire part-timers than buy more AI.
Quoted in the source: Sara Russell, founder, Mainland Vintage. Source: Business Insider: How an artist built an AI C-suite to help run her business (2026-08-17) · Added 2026-10-14. Results as reported by the source; we haven't independently verified them.
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How to set it up yourself
- Create one AI project per role you cover (marketing, sales, finance, product).
- Tell each project its job, your goals, and that it advises while you decide.
- Upload real data (sales exports, past posts) to the right project.
- Once a month, have a chief-of-staff chat summarize what each department did and what's next.
Copy-paste prompt
You are the [finance] lead for my small shop. I am the CEO and make every final decision. Using the sales data attached, explain what changed this month, what you'd watch next month, and two options for me to consider. Don't decide for me.
Tools used
Claude
AI assistant for writing, long documents, analysis and coding help.
From $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (checked 2026-10-13)
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Checked prices: Claude: from $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (verified 2026-10-13)
Rather not do it yourself?
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