The first 10 prompts every Australian small business owner should run

How to use this list

Don’t try to run all 10. The mistake new AI users make is collecting prompts; the win is finding the 2-3 prompts that fit your specific work and using them weekly.

Pick 4-6 of the prompts below that match your real workflows. Run each with real business data (not made-up examples). Score each as:

• Useful = I’ll use this weekly
• Interesting = I’ll use it sometimes
• Not for me = doesn’t fit my work

After scoring, commit to the 2-3 marked Useful for two weeks of consistent use. That’s how you actually find your patterns.

Prompt 1: Customer email triage

For service businesses, sales teams, anyone with an inbox.

I'm pasting a customer email below. For your response:
1. Summarise what the customer is asking in one sentence
2. Classify intent: enquiry / complaint / booking / info-only / supplier
3. Draft a reply in this tone: friendly Australian, plain English,
   warm but not gushing, no exclamation marks, under 80 words unless
   they need more
4. End the reply with a concrete next step

The email:
[paste email]

Best for: any operator who receives 10+ customer emails per day.

Prompt 2: Meeting summary from a transcript

For anyone running Zoom / Teams / Google Meet meetings.

Below is the auto-generated transcript of a meeting. Produce:
1. The meeting summary in 4 sentences (what was discussed, what was
   decided, what's outstanding)
2. Action items with owner and due date (if mentioned)
3. Decisions made (just the decisions, not the discussion)
4. Anything I should follow up on personally

The transcript:
[paste transcript]

Best for: anyone in 5+ meetings per week.

Prompt 3: Product description rewrite

For any operator selling something online.

Rewrite this product description for an Australian audience. Keep the
facts identical. Improve:
- Australian English (organised, colour, centre)
- Cut the AI-tells: no "use", no "elevate", no "unleash",
  no "full", no "get into"
- Add a specific use case in the second sentence
- Add a one-line shipping note at the end ("Free Australia-wide shipping
  over $80" or similar, make it match the brand)
- Length: 100-140 words

Original description:
[paste current product copy]

Best for: Shopify / Etsy / e-commerce operators with 10+ products.

Prompt 4: Quote follow-up

For service businesses, tradies, consultants.

I sent a quote 5 days ago for [describe work]. The customer hasn't
replied. Draft a polite follow-up SMS / email that:
- References the work briefly
- Asks if they have any questions
- Offers a phone call this week if helpful
- Doesn't sound pushy or desperate
- Australian tone, not American
- Includes a soft "no pressure if timing isn't right"

The quote was for [amount]. Customer name [first name]. My business:
[your business name].

Best for: tradies, consultants, anyone selling services with quote-then-decide cycles.

Prompt 5: Long document summary

For operators receiving contracts, accountant reports, tender documents.

Summarise the document below in plain English for someone who runs
a small business and isn't a lawyer / accountant / specialist.
Structure:
1. What this document is, in one sentence
2. The 3-5 things I need to action
3. The 2-3 things I should push back on or query before agreeing
4. Any deadlines I need to be aware of
5. Anything that looks unusual or worth a second opinion

Be honest. If the document is fine, say so. If something looks
suspicious, flag it.

Document:
[paste full document]

Best for: any operator dealing with contracts, complex emails, accountant reports.

Prompt 6: Brainstorm 20 of [thing]

For when you’re stuck on naming, slogans, content ideas, anything creative.

I run [business description]. I need 20 [things, e.g. product names,
slogans, subject lines, content ideas, blog post titles, etc.] for
[specific context].

Constraints:
- Australian tone, not American
- [your specific brand traits: warm, dry, slightly cheeky, etc.]
- Avoid these: [list any tropes you find tired]
- Length: [character count or word count if relevant]
- [any other specific rules]

Give me 20. Mix safe options (5) with bold options (5) with bonkers
options (5) with experimental options (5).

Best for: anyone needing creative input, branding, content, marketing.

Prompt 7: Customer list segmentation

For operators with a CRM / customer list they need to slice.

Below is a CSV export of [N] customers. For each customer, classify by:
1. Region: [Sydney metro / Sydney suburban / Melbourne / Brisbane /
   Perth / Adelaide / Regional VIC / Regional NSW / Regional QLD /
   Other / unknown]
2. Likely segment: [list your segments here, e.g. "high-value loyalist,
   new customer, dormant, churned"]
3. Action recommended: [e.g. "send re-engagement, send thank-you,
   ignore, flag for review"]

Return the data as a CSV with the original columns plus a region column,
a segment column, and an action column. Don't make up data, if
something is unclear from the source, put "unknown".

The customers:
[paste CSV]

Best for: anyone with a customer list they’ve never properly segmented.

Prompt 8: Hard message draft

For when you need to write something difficult.

I need to write a [polite-but-firm follow-up / refund refusal /
firing a client / apology / declining a partnership / etc.]
to [recipient context].

Context:
- Relationship history: [brief]
- The situation: [what's happening]
- What I want to communicate: [the message in one sentence]
- Tone: [what register fits, formal / firm / warm / sympathetic]
- Outcome I want: [what should happen after they read this]

Draft it. Australian tone, not American. Specific not generic.
Don't burn the relationship unless I've said to. Don't be a doormat
either.

Best for: anyone managing difficult conversations (most of us).

Prompt 9: BAS / tax sanity check

For BAS / tax submissions before lodging. Tax agents only, the AI assists, you lodge.

I'm about to lodge a BAS. Here are the figures and last quarter's BAS
for comparison. Flag any anomalies that look worth investigating
before I lodge:

This quarter:
- Total sales (G1): $[amount]
- GST collected (1A): $[amount]
- Purchases subject to GST (G11): $[amount]
- GST paid (1B): $[amount]
- PAYG withholding (W2): $[amount]

Last quarter (same period last year if available):
- [same fields]

Things to check:
- GST collected vs sales, is the implied rate roughly 1/11?
- PAYG vs total payroll, does it look right?
- Any line that's moved more than 15% quarter-on-quarter without
  obvious cause
- Any zero where I'd expect non-zero or vice versa

Be specific. Don't be reassuring; find the anomalies if any.
Remember: I am a registered BAS agent, lodging this. You're sanity-
checking, not preparing.

Best for: registered BAS agents, accountants, bookkeepers. AI assists; the human lodges.

Prompt 10: Decision pressure-test

For when you’re about to commit to something big.

I'm about to [decision: hire, fire, sign contract, change pricing,
launch product, kill product, partner with X, walk away from Y].

The case for: [reasons]
The case against: [reasons]
What I'm assuming: [be honest about assumptions]
The worst-case if I do this: [what's the downside]
The worst-case if I don't: [what's the opportunity cost]

Pressure-test the decision. Specifically:
1. What assumption am I making that might be wrong?
2. What evidence would change my mind?
3. What's a reasonable hedge / smaller version of this decision?
4. What am I likely emotionally biased about, am I leaning in or
   away from this for non-rational reasons?
5. If a friend in my industry asked you this, what would you tell
   them?

Be honest. Don't be sycophantic. Tell me the truth even if it stings.

Best for: anyone about to commit to something significant. The decision pressure-test alone has saved a number of our DotVA clients from bad calls.

How to actually use this list

Don’t bookmark this page and never come back. The pattern that works:

1. This Sunday afternoon (30 min): Pick the 4-6 prompts above that match your actual work. Open Claude.ai. Run each one with real data from your business.
2. Score each as useful / interesting / not-for-me.
3. Commit to the 2-3 marked “useful” for two weeks. Run them every time the trigger appears (every customer email if you picked #1; every meeting if #2; every product update if #3, etc.).
4. At the end of week 2: track real time saved. Most operators see 3-6 hours/week from 2-3 well-chosen workflows.

The reason this beats “try AI for a month and see” is structure: prompts that work + scoring + real data + commitment + measurement. The structure is what produces the result.

What’s next

• Build a social media powerhouse with Claude Code, Sunday-afternoon build that compounds.
• The inbox cleanup playbook, daily 10-minute habit.
• Your Sunday-night business briefing prompt, weekly review.
• Claude for absolute beginners, the foundation if you skipped ahead.