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.
All owners, managers, and leaders want their valued employees to have the proper tools and knowledge to succeed at their job. No department needs this more than the sales staff in your business. Correctly training your sales team can give them the appropriate tools and knowledge to take them from mediocre to a force to be reckoned with in no...
Welcome to the team! Here is a pack of forms that need to be filled out (in triplicate) for Human Resources, a room full of strangers that you will need to get to know and a company handbook that you will need to familiarize yourself with! And then you need to become a contributing member of our work team and...
We have all heard the time honored adage that “The customer is always right!” Keeping the customer happy and coming back for business should be every company’s first priority – whether they are actually “right” or not. Maintaining a satisfied customer base is easier, more cost effective and takes less time than finding new customers. How, then, can businesses deliver...
Social Media, meaning the myriad of social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn and so on, began in the mid 1990’s when Tina Sharkey, CEO of Babycenter.com and a former executive at iVillage and AOL coined the term. Since that time it has really taken hold with millions of users and billions of posts daily. However, social...
In today’s business world, keeping up and surpassing your competition is a constant battle that requires vigilance, intelligence and strategy. Many businesses use a strategic technique called the S.W.O.T Analysis to stay on top of their game. S.W.O.T Analysis or sometimes called the S.W.O.T Matrix is a structured planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved...
Guest Blogger, Jenn Livingston – I’m a business consultant and writer who specializes in business technology, customer relationship management, and lead management. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather team them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The...
According to a recent study by Thompson Law, a vast majority of small business owners and larger corporate owners intend to pass the family business on to their children or other family members, but less than 30% have a succession plan. The Family Planning Institute further supports this report by citing that while 88% of business owners plan to have...
Finding a bank that is reliable, easy-to-access and supportive should be a top priority for small business owners. Choosing the right bank for your company could completely impact daily operations and become a solid foundation on which you build and expand your small business. As an owner or manager of a small business you will need to consider what the...
If a picture is worth a thousand words then what must the value of a video be for business? Statistics show compelling evidence that videos are an area that marketing experts can not ignore. According to Video Brewery. . . 100 million internet users watch a video that is business related daily. 90% of consumers found watching a video helpful...
Securing customer loyalty in today’s tough market should be at the top of every business owner’s “To-Do” List. The statistics are well known. It takes more time, effort and company money to procure a new client than it does to maintain the loyalty of a current one. Therefore maintaining the loyalty of your customers should be of paramount importance. Let’s...
