Mike is the CEO and Owner of Sperling Interactive with over 15 years of website design, photography, marketing, and e-commerce experience. He built Sperling Interactive with his wife from the ground up, starting as a small office in his home with only a few employees and clients to one that has 20+ employees and more than 600 clients served all from our headquarters in Salem’s Historic District.
Mike grew up in Baltimore, Maryland where he went to a magnet school for the arts and began his study of photography. From there he went on to Rochester Institute of Technology in New York where he got his degree in Photojournalism and Communications. Before founding Sperling Interactive, Mike worked his way up from staff photographer at the Eagle Tribune Publishing Company to the lead operator and manager of multiple websites for daily and weekly publications.
Mike has a deep commitment to community involvement and civic engagements. In the past few years he and members of our team have become involved in programs that assist the youth, homeless, food insecure, and families at risk through programs at Lifebridge, Paddle for Plummer, LEAP for Education, Harborlight, Bridgewell, and the Enterprise Center at Salem State.
Ever the optimist, Mike believes that there is never a problem that can’t be solved with a bit of ingenuity and perseverance. It’s this positive, can-do attitude and know-how that allowed Mike to be recognized as Small Business of the Year 2019, by the Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce.
Your business is on several social media platforms, posting regularly, and trying to engage viewers. But you feel your social media campaign could use some help, possibly to increase following, fans or even trying something different to get better results. Here are a few suggestions of how to shake things up a bit and boost your engagement on Facebook, Twitter,...
As of July 1, 2015 the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148C, took effect. Depending upon size of the business, most Massachusetts employers are subject to this new law. MA Sick Time Law may be broadly applied but it does not impact every employer the same. Let’s look further at this new law and...
So you have decided to take the leap take the idea that has been milling in your head for months or possibly years and put it into action by starting your own business? This is thrilling and at the same time frightening. Where do you start? How do you make your idea a reality? Is this even possible? You probably...
Blogging, Tweeting, Posting and Pinning. Social Media is a huge undertaking and critical for businesses large and small to engage with their audience, showcase business services and products, and, in the end, create brand awareness. Writing posts and tweets may sound fairly simple but it should be a carefully planned marketing strategy in order to take it from “yet another...
Making resolutions for the new year is a time honored tradition in our society. We resolve to eat better, exercise more and spend more quality time with family. Sometimes we succeed at these things and sometimes we don’t. While making personal goals are a great way to kick off the New Year, so is making a list of your business...
2015 was not a good year for IT security. It seems like every other day there were announcements of how many files were breached at major corporations who supposedly were safeguarded by top notch security systems. These included companies like Anthem Health Insurance, the infamous Ashley Madison, and chain stores like Target and CVS. If you own a small business,...
Many people in the workforce may think about policy writing for the Human Resources Department of any business as “Ho-Hum” or “Yawn-producing Boring,” or even worse as a great waste of paper. Whatever your opinion is about HR handbooks and policies, those policies are there with a purpose – to protect employers and employees alike. Human resource policies are the...
Since the time when the earliest homo sapiens created paintings on cave walls using clay and berries, humans have been telling stories in one way or another. Stories have passed on information, family culture and education – generation after generation. Fast forward millions of years and storytelling has morphed from something done with small children before bedtime to a clever...
Launching a small business is a bit like an acrobat walking across a tightrope at the center ring of the circus. The acrobat must shift and balance their weight to safety make it across the narrow wire, much like an owner of a small business must balance costs vs profits to figure out if a break-even point will be reached...
According to the Small Business Association, one of the biggest issues facing small businesses is the inability to access sufficient credit and capital. According to numbers from just a year ago almost 8 million small businesses are strapped for cash and may be unable to hire new employees, take on new clients, or sadly, even keep their doors open. Lack...
