A Certified Storybrand Guide for Small Business

This is our About page.

But, unlike others this page isn't about us, it's about YOU.

If you're like most business owners who find us, you've already invested in marketing — probably a website, SEO, maybe even hired an agency or two — but something isn't working. You're not here for our story. You're here to find out what's broken and how to fix it. That's exactly what we do.

Schedule a Call

Step One, We Want To Know What Is Working And What's Actually Broken.

When your marketing isn't producing, it's almost never one big thing — it's gaps. Nearly every struggling website we diagnose has at least one of three:

Gap 1 — You're Not Fully Represented

Your website doesn't show everything you actually do. Services are missing, your best work is invisible, and the business on the screen is a fraction of the business in real life. Nobody — human or AI — can choose what they can't see.

Gap 2 — You're Not Being Found

Your site isn't built to be discovered. Missing citations, a neglected Google Business Profile, no local SEO foundation, none of the behind-the-scenes structure that search engines and AI need to read and recommend you. You're open for business on a street with no signs.

Gap 3 — You're Not Answering

Your ideal clients are asking real questions — what does it cost, who's the best near me, can they fix my problem — and your website doesn't answer any of them. So Google and AI send them to someone who does.

And underneath all three gaps is the same root cause: a message that was never made clear.

Schedule a Call

WHY CLARITY COMES FIRST

Everything comes back to One Thing.

"Not represented." "Not found." "Not answering." Look closely and they're the same problem wearing three different masks — a message that isn't clear.

And clarity isn't one of the things we do. It's the thing everything else is built on. Strategy, SEO, AI search, local search, social, automation — every tactic you'll ever invest in sits on top of your message. If that foundation is muddy, everything you build on it wobbles. Get it clear, and everything you build on it gets stronger.

That matters more now than it ever has. A clear message is the one thing that serves both audiences you're trying to reach — the customer who has to understand you in five seconds, and the AI that has to understand you well enough to recommend you. You can't optimize your way around a confusing message. You can't buy ads that fix it. You can't automate it away.

So that's where we start. Every project. Every time. It's the reason I became a StoryBrand Guide — because before the tactics, before the tools, you need words your ideal customer instantly understands.

Clarity first. Everything else is built on it.

Schedule a Call

THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Your Customers Are on a Journey. Your Website Is Only One Stop.

Every customer travels the same road: they have to know you exist, like what they see, trust you, try you, buy from you — then repeat and refer. Marketing's job is to find where that journey breaks down for your business and fix that stage, not sell you the same package it sells everyone.

YOUR GUIDE

Hi, I'm Tim Yates, a Certified Storybrand Guide.

I started StoryWorks in 2020 for one reason: I kept watching good businesses pour money into marketing that was never going to work — not because the work was bad, but because nobody ever stopped to find out what was actually broken.

I'm a Certified StoryBrand Guide, a Duct Tape Marketing Certified Fractional CMO, and I've spent the years since helping service businesses clarify their message and then get found — on Google, in AI search, and in their local communities. Based in Waukee, Iowa, serving service-based businesses across Iowa and nationwide. Google Business Profile and local search are where I do some of my best work, because for a local service business, that's where the customers are.

But don't take my word for it.

What Donald Miller and Dr. JJ Peterson Say About Working With Me

CERTIFIED STORYBRAND GUIDE SINCE 2020 · DUCT TAPE MARKETING CERTIFIED · FRACTIONAL CMO · MEMBER, WAUKEE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE · MEMBER, GREATER DES MOINES PARTNERSHIP

Schedule a Call

Don't Just Take Our Word for It

★★★★★

He demonstrates clear and thorough thinking about my business needs, and understands even the needs of my customers in what they are looking for when they read my website.

Greg McCall

Client

★★★★★

His coaching approach made the process seamless, empowering us with the skills and confidence to refine our messaging independently. I highly recommend him.

Deb Boykin

President, Historic Marbold Farmstead

ARE WE A FIT?

We Do Our Best Work With Businesses Like Yours — If this Sounds Like You.

We work best with businesses that...

Have already invested in marketing — and are ready to invest in marketing that actually works.

Are service-based — your customers hire you for your expertise and the quality of your work.

Need local leads — you win when your community can find you, and local search is where we shine.

Believe marketing is an investment, not an expense — you put a dollar in expecting more than a dollar back. (Our best client put one in and got back $19.20.)

Want a strategic partner who brings honest recommendations to the table — not an order taker.

We're probably not a fit if...

You're shopping for the cheapest option rather than the best return.

You need a flood of leads by next week — real marketing systems compound; they don't flash.

You'd rather hand off tasks than engage in the strategy.

If the first list sounds like you, we should talk.

Schedule a Call

BRANDS WE'VE WORKED WITH

See More StoryBrand Website Examples →

OUR PROMISE

What You Can Expect From Us

No gimmicks — just proven frameworks and strategies that have done it before.

Honest advice and clear communication — we'll tell you what you need, even when it's less than you thought.

A team as invested in your growth as you are.

Everything measured — you'll always know what your marketing is returning.

THE PLAN

Your 3-Step Plan to Marketing That Works

1

Schedule a Call

Tell us about your business and what your marketing isn't doing for you.

2

We Find the Gaps and Build Your Plan

We diagnose what's broken, clarify your message, and map a plan that connects your marketing to your goals.

3

Get Found and Grow

Your ideal clients find you — on Google, in AI search, and in your community — and your business grows with confidence.

Schedule a Call

COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions Every Business Owner Asks Us

Why does StoryWorks start with Strategy First?

Because tactics without strategy waste money. Strategy First is a 30–45 day diagnostic process that clarifies your message, identifies your ideal clients, audits your online presence against the three gaps, and gives you a 30/60/90-day plan built for measurable results — before you commit to anything bigger.

Who will I actually be working with?

Every Strategy First engagement is led personally by Tim Yates, Certified StoryBrand Guide and Duct Tape Marketing Certified Fractional CMO — backed by a team of StoryBrand-trained writers, designers, developers, and SEO specialists who execute the plan.

What makes StoryWorks different from other StoryBrand agencies?

Most stop at the message. We clarify your message and then do the work most agencies skip: the local SEO, Google Business Profile, citations, and AI search readiness that determine whether your clear message ever gets seen. Clarity first — then visibility.

What does it mean to be "AI search ready"?

AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Mode now answer the questions your customers used to type into search. Being AI-ready means your website passes three tests: everything you do is represented, your site is structured so machines can read it, and it answers the real questions your ideal clients ask. We diagnose all three — it's built into every Strategy First engagement.