Meet the Grateful Builder consulting team: Jason Fink and Maren Robinson
The people behind the promise.
Two operators, four crafts, and one way of working: straight talk, honest effort, and your business treated like our own.
Jason Fink
Jason Fink is the founder of the Grateful Builder and the owner of Novum Creative, a boutique agency in Roanoke, Virginia. Before any of that, he was a chef. Then he spent fourteen years in the automotive industry, working his way from sales consultant to sales manager to finance director for multi-million dollar dealerships, growing their bottom lines year over year.
He grew up in Roanoke and learned to work with his hands first. When his daughter was born, he traded the kitchen for the dealership. Along the way he spent twelve years in Colorado, then came back home, back to the car business, and right into the itch that would become Novum Creative and the Grateful Builder.
Local owners kept asking for the same thing: industry-quality websites and honest business guidance without the industry price tag. They kept telling him to bottle everything up in plain language. That was the moment. He drew closer to his faith, built the Grateful Builder around gratitude, kindness, and humility, and started consulting. You can read more of the story on Wins & Wisdom.
His training includes JM&A Group sales and finance schools, Sherry Fogel finance schools, and P&G sales consulting school. He is finishing his business degree at Virginia Western Community College, and he studies operators like Gary Vaynerchuk, Simon Sinek, and Dan Martell. His rule: if you are not learning, you are dying.
Off the clock he is a single father, usually hiking, playing guitar, fly fishing, or driving the Blue Ridge Parkway with a camera. He volunteers at his church, the Rescue Mission, and the Ronald McDonald House. His working philosophy is simple: lead with gratitude, be kind, stay humble, control what you can, and give the rest to God. He treats every client that way, no matter what they believe.
Clients are usually surprised to learn he was a chef. Then they ask how he stays so positive. His answer: we are not the biggest firm in the world, and nobody knows everything, but we stay on top of our industries, we look at everything through your customer's eyes, and we tell you the truth. See what we do, then start the conversation.
Maren Robinson
Maren Robinson is a financial services professional and the co-founder of the Grateful Builder. She spent more than two decades as a dental hygienist before making the leap she now helps others make, building her financial services business in early mornings, lunch breaks, and evenings for six years before going all in full time in March 2026.
Today she runs her financial services office serving families across the Stafford and Fredericksburg region and Northern Virginia, with a second location in Tysons Corner. She helps everyday families protect what matters most through life insurance, retirement planning, and financial education. Through the Grateful Builder she brings that same protection to business owners: financial planning and employee life insurance built for small teams.
Her belief is simple: you do not need a finance background to build wealth for yourself and others. You need heart, work ethic, and someone willing to show you the way. Her full story is coming soon. In the meantime, see what we do or start the conversation.
Four crafts. One team.
Most consultants hand you one piece of the puzzle. We cover the whole table. Your website brings people in, your sales team turns them into customers, your financials keep the foundation solid, and your people stay protected. Four arms, one team, working your business like it is our own.
Tap a circle to see what each arm does.
Novum Creative
Your digital front door. Websites, photography, and the full digital ecosystem, built to bring you business and drive results while you run it. Learn more
Sales Consulting and Training
Practical sales consulting, tailor built for your business. Jason trains your team to sell with honesty. No scripts that sound like scripts, just clear human conversation that closes. Learn more
Financial Consulting and Planning
A trusted partner handles the numbers. Financial consulting, planning, and employee life insurance, so the foundation stays solid. Learn more
Company and Employee Protection
Protection and benefits at a commercial level. Life insurance structured the right way for your team and your business. Talk to Maren about what fits. Learn more
The values we work by.
This is how we show up for every client, every project, every conversation. If these sound like your values too, we will get along just fine.
01Built with Grit
Show up, do the work, and do not quit on a hard Tuesday. Everything worth building takes effort, and we are not afraid of effort.
02Led with Heart
Kindness is a strategy. Treat people right, stay humble, do honest work, and the rest takes care of itself.
03Gratitude, Kindness, Humility
Wake up grateful. Meet everyone with kindness. Remain humble. Control what you can, give the rest to God, and treat every client that way no matter what they believe.
04Effective for Others
Be so good at what we do that we can actually help people. Good community citizens, happy teams, happy customers, on the inside and the outside.
Built for businesses like yours.
If you are small, scrappy, and serious about growing, you are our people. Open any row to see what we mean and which arms of the team fit.
You make things and your reps sell them. We train the sales team, rebuild the website so it backs them up, and put protection in place for the business. One team covering the floor, the front door, and the books.
Homeowners buy trust before they buy a roof. We build websites that prove you show up, train your team to close without pressure, and protect the crew that climbs the ladders.
Family run and word-of-mouth powered. We give you a digital front door that works as hard as you do, plus straight answers about the business, without agency pricing.
Boutiques and specialty shops with loyal regulars. We build the online presence that turns regulars into evangelists and browsers into buyers. See what we do.
You fix the problem and move to the next call. We make sure the phone keeps ringing: a website that ranks and converts, and a team trained to win the job on the first visit.
Your face is your brand. Through Novum Creative we build personal brands that stand out in a crowded market, with photography and websites that make listings shine.
Mission first, budget second. We stretch every dollar: honest websites, practical guidance, and the same heart we ask you to lead with. Start the conversation.
What owners ask us.
Straight answers before you ever pick up the phone. Anything else on your mind, ask us directly.
We are a small business consulting team with four arms: websites and digital through Novum Creative, sales consulting and training, financial consulting and planning, and company and employee protection. One team covers your front door, your sales floor, your books, and your people.
No. Start where it hurts most. Many clients begin with one arm and add the others as they grow. It all starts with a conversation about what you actually need.
Small business owners and nonprofits, especially in the first few years. If you are the one signing the checks and losing the sleep, we built this for you. Read Wins & Wisdom to see the kinds of owners we work with.
We are based in Roanoke, Virginia and we work with clients across the country. Websites, training, and planning travel well over video and the phone.
Every business is different, so we do not sell boxes or packages. It starts with a conversation about what you actually need, and honest pricing for honest work. Start the conversation.
You get Jason and Maren directly. No account managers, no 800 number, no handoffs to strangers. The people on this page are the people on your project. That is the whole pitch.
We train your team to sell the way people buy: listen first, tell the truth, and let clear human conversation do the closing. No scripts that sound like scripts. Learn more about what we do.
Start the conversation. Tell us where your business is headed and we will help you build the path there.
Come build with us.
Tell us where your business is headed. We will help you build the path there.
Start the conversation