StoryBrand Certified Guide in Northern Colorado
Telos Creative is a StoryBrand certified marketing and web design agency in Windsor, Colorado. Founder Arnold Jakobsen is a StoryBrand Certified Guide who clarifies your message, then builds the website and marketing that turn that clarity into customers, across Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.
By Arnold Jakobsen, StoryBrand Certified Guide · Updated June 2026
Most small business websites confuse before they convince
Ready to make your message clear? Let's build a website that works while you work.
You do great work and your customers are happy, but your website talks about everything at once, so visitors leave before they understand why they should pick you. The problem is rarely the service. It is the message.
When your message is clear, customers listen. The Telos team makes it clear, then builds it into a site that converts. A StoryBrand site gives you:
- A clear one-line message
- A customer-first homepage
- A simple, obvious next step
- Words that earn trust fast
- A site built to convert
- Mobile-fast performance
What is the StoryBrand framework?
StoryBrand is a seven-part brand messaging framework created by Donald Miller, based on the structure of every story that has ever held an audience. The customer is the hero. Your business is the guide. See how the framework turns into a high-converting site in StoryBrand website design.
- A Character (the hero)The story starts with the customer, not the company. You name one specific customer and one specific thing they want, in plain words.
- Has a problemName the external problem, the internal one (how it makes them feel), and the philosophical one (why it is wrong). The internal problem is what makes a customer feel understood.
- And meets a guideThe customer needs a guide, not another hero. A guide shows empathy and authority. This is where your business enters, as the trusted helper.
- Who gives them a planA simple three or four step plan removes the fear of doing business with you and makes the path forward feel safe and obvious.
- And calls them to actionCustomers do not act unless you ask. Clear messaging includes a direct call to action and a softer one for people not ready yet.
- That helps them avoid failureBriefly show what is at risk if the customer does nothing. A light touch of stakes creates urgency without fear-mongering.
- And ends in successPaint the picture of life after working with you. People are drawn toward a clear, hopeful ending.
Brands we've built
StoryBrand sites that convert
Elevated Carpentry
Decks, kitchens and custom carpentry
Fort Collins Bath
Old shower at breakfast. New shower by dinner.
Stillwater Ranch
Where veterans belong
Green Sprout Learning
Learning is... EVERYWHERE
Guildsteam
Your offshore talent guild
Thyme For A Taste
From our garden to your table
How does Telos build your BrandScript?
A BrandScript is the one-page script your whole brand runs on. Here is how the Telos team builds yours. Want to draft yours before we talk? Use the free BrandScript template.
- Book a callWe meet, learn your customer and their problem, and the result you deliver. We work through it together on the call.
- Draft your BrandScriptAs a StoryBrand Certified Guide, Arnold runs your message through the seven framework parts and writes a first draft.
- Refine and buildWe tighten the wording together, then build it into a website that turns your visitors into leads.
See where your website stands
Enter your website and get an honest look at how it shows up on Google and AI search. Real checks against your live site, with your score in about two minutes. Want the background first? Our guide to AI visibility for local businesses explains what the audit checks.
StoryBrand questions, answered
What is a StoryBrand Certified Guide?
A StoryBrand Certified Guide is a marketing professional who has completed Donald Miller’s official StoryBrand certification and is listed in the guide directory at StoryBrand.com. Telos Creative founder Arnold Jakobsen is a StoryBrand Certified Guide based in Windsor, Colorado.
What does a StoryBrand website cost?
A pure StoryBrand engagement (BrandScript, one-liner, and messaging guide, without a website rebuild) typically runs $2,500 to $5,000 one-time over 4 to 6 weeks. A combined branding-and-website engagement runs $7,500 to $15,000 over 8 to 10 weeks, and ongoing messaging consultation is available as a monthly retainer. Telos prefers month-to-month engagements over annual contracts. Every project is scoped to your goals on a free assessment, with a clear, honest price.
How is StoryBrand different from traditional marketing?
Traditional marketing makes the company the hero and lists features. StoryBrand makes the customer the hero and the business the guide, naming the customer problem, offering a clear plan, and showing what success looks like. The result is usually more leads from the same traffic.
Do you have to be local to work with a StoryBrand guide?
No. The framework works the same anywhere and much of the process happens over video calls. That said, Telos is based in Windsor, Colorado and many clients value a local guide who knows Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.
Who is StoryBrand for?
StoryBrand engagements work best for small businesses that have a real product or service customers already pay for, are doing roughly $250K to $5M in annual revenue, and want a long-term marketing foundation rather than one-off tactics that never compound. If you keep hearing “your website is beautiful, but I am not sure what you actually do,” that is the StoryBrand gap. Telos audited dozens of Northern Colorado small-business websites against the framework; read the Northern Colorado StoryBrand Benchmark for the seven most common gaps.
Trusted by Northern Colorado businesses
Seven patterns we see on almost every local small business website, the 30-minute fix for each, and a printable self-audit scorecard for your own site. Free download, no rebuild required.
Get the free guideLet’s clarify your message
If your website is not bringing in the leads it should, the message is the place to start. Tell us about your business and the Telos team will be in touch. Prefer to talk it through first? Call (970) 581-1398 or email arnold@teloscreative.com.