I have some friends who want to start a web design agency. Their biggest problem isn’t building websites. Claude can do that now. Their biggest problem is finding businesses that actually need one.
So I built them a tool. It took about 20 minutes of my time, and it finds local service businesses without websites using the Google Places API. You type in a city, a business type, and some filters, and it spits out a list of prospects you can call today. You can download the whole thing as a CSV.
I’d never built a web tool before this. I’m not a coding expert. I’ve been using AI tools for about a year and a half, and I just got Claude Code less than 24 hours before I made this. But that’s sort of the point.
How It Started
I was in school, typing on my iPad, and I asked Claude whether it could build something like this. Instead of answering my question, it just started building it. Right there in the browser, it generated the logic, the UI, everything.
The problem was I couldn’t share it with anyone. It was just sitting in a Claude chat. So I asked Claude what I should do to make it a real, deployable tool. It gave me a prompt with all the logic and specifications to feed into Claude Code.
Building It in Claude Code
I opened up Warp (my terminal) and pasted the prompt into Claude Code. While it was running, I was going back and forth between two things: Claude Code in the terminal building the tool, and Claude in my browser explaining what was happening.
I could’ve just hit “okay” on every step and let it figure everything out. But I wanted to understand what was going on. So I kept asking questions in the browser while Claude Code kept building in the terminal. The browser Claude would also give me additional instructions to pass back into Claude Code to make sure things were done right.
Eventually, it was done. I deployed it to Vercel, and the tool was live.
What the Tool Actually Does
The Prospect Finder is straightforward. You fill in four fields:
- City (like Blaine, MN or Minneapolis)
- Business type (HVAC, plumber, landscaper, dentist, whatever)
- Minimum reviews (to filter out brand-new listings)
- Minimum rating (so you’re targeting established businesses)
Then you paste in your Google Places API key. The tool searches Google Places, checks each business for a website, and filters out anyone who already has one. What you’re left with is a clean list of businesses without websites, complete with their name, address, phone number, rating, review count, and a Google Maps link.
Testing It Live
I ran a search for HVAC companies near my area. It found eight businesses without websites.
The first result was Ham Lake Heating and Cooling. I clicked through to their Google Maps listing, and sure enough, there was an “Add a website” option where a website link would normally be. No website.
I tried another one with a more unique name: Maddox Heating and Air Conditioning, 4.3 stars. This one actually did have a website, but it wasn’t showing up in Google Maps. That’s a problem they need to fix, and honestly, that’s another service you could offer them.
A third result confirmed no website at all. Just profiles on directory sites, but nothing they own.
The tool isn’t perfect. It’s searching the Google Places API, so if a business has a website but hasn’t added it to their Google listing, it’ll show up as a prospect. But that’s still useful information. If their web presence is that disorganized, they probably need help.
The CSV Workflow
After each search, you hit “Download CSV” and get a spreadsheet with everything. The real power comes from running multiple searches.
Say you want every plumbing company without a website across the Minneapolis metro. You’d search Blaine, download the CSV. Then do Minneapolis, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, Wayzata. Each one gives you a new file. Then you can combine them into a Google Sheet and start tracking who you’ve contacted, who responded, and where you are in the process.
Getting Your Google Places API Key
You’ll need a Google Places API key to use the tool. Here’s how:
- Go to console.cloud.google.com
- Create a new project (I called mine “ProspectFinder”)
- Search for “Places API” and enable the one that says Places API (New)
- Go to API & Services, then Credentials, and grab your API key
You do have to put a credit card on file, but Google gives you free credits. Even if you’re running 10 or 20 searches a day, you won’t come close to the limit. It’s a basic tool making basic API calls.
One thing I had to troubleshoot: the original Places API didn’t work with the tool. I had to switch to the Places API (New) endpoint. If you’re building something similar, save yourself the headache and use the new one from the start.
What I Learned
This was my first time really using Claude Code, and a few things stood out.
First, the barrier to building tools is basically gone. I don’t know how to code. I’ve never built a web app. But I went from an idea to a deployed, working tool in 20 minutes of actual effort. Claude Code was running longer than that in the background, but my time investment was minimal.
Second, going back and forth between Claude in the browser and Claude Code in the terminal is a good workflow. The browser version is great for understanding and strategy. The terminal version is great for execution. Using them together made the whole process smoother.
Third, I actually learned something. I didn’t just blindly accept every step. By asking questions along the way, I built up an understanding of how deployment works, what serverless functions do, and how APIs connect. That knowledge compounds. Next time I build something, I’ll be faster and more confident.
Try It Yourself
The tool is free and live. You bring your own Google Places API key, and the tool never stores it. It stays in your browser session and goes directly to Google. Try it out here.
If you’re running a web design agency, doing cold outreach, or just want to find businesses that need help with their online presence, this is a quick way to build a prospect list without manually Googling every business in town.
This is not what we do at Local Service Spotlight at all. We don’t do cold outreach. This was just me wanting to see if I could build something useful with Claude Code for the first time. Turns out I could.
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