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.
What is customer loyalty and why is it important? In short, maintaining customer loyalty employs strategies and tactics to keep as many of the same customers coming back to your business. It’s important because it can cost businesses up to 25 times more to get new customers than it does to keep current ones. Loyal customers are ones that are...
Business is a web – a web of connections with unlimited opportunities for growth. The more knowledge you absorb, the more support you have, and your experience with and exposure to the opinions and perspectives of others, will give you a sizable leg-up in the business world. Consistent involvement and connections will get you far in this field so it’s...
A CEO group, in the simplest of terms, is a support group for entrepreneurs at any stage of their business career. Mentors that are part of these organizations are all non-competing CEOs that have established successful companies and are willing to share their knowledge and provide advice to others. Being part of one of these groups allows you to receive...
Based on a study conducted by Forbes, in 2023 12.7% of all full-time employees are now working a fully remote schedule, while 28.2% are working a hybrid model schedule. It’s estimated that by 2025, the percentage of Americans working fully remotely will continue to rise and reach at least 22%. With this projected increase it’s important to learn how to...
Success doesn’t have to come at the expense of the environment. Contrary to popular belief, small businesses can go green without breaking the bank. In fact, sometimes it can even save you money! Here are some simple, economical tips so your small business can be more sustainable. Be Energy-Efficient Energy pollution creates the highest amount of air pollution in the...
If you’re a new business, especially a retail business, you might be debating whether it’s better to be online-only or a brick-and-mortar store. Your budget must be used wisely, after all, and anywhere you can cut expenses can benefit. So is it better to go with an online store, a physical storefront, or hedge your bets with both? Online-Only Online-only...
As a small business owner, you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. Your day is filled with meetings, calls, paperwork, emails, and a thousand other things that can’t always wait. And since there are only so many hours in a day, naturally some of these responsibilities bleed out into what should be your off-hours. However, that doesn’t mean...
No matter the size of your business, when your company has a job opening, it needs to be filled. Naturally, you want the most qualified candidate, but you need to ask yourself – do I look outside the company, or is the perfect candidate already in my employ? In case you didn’t know, internal hiring is when a company transfers...
A business is nothing without customers. This is true from startups to Fortune 500 companies. However, as a small business looking to grow, having a loyal customer base is vital. When building a brand, it’s not always enough to have a great product – you need to have great customer service, too. Customer service is one of those things that...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been all over the news. Some people have been raving about it while others have spoken out against it. There has especially been chatter about what AI means for small businesses. With so many different voices talking about it at once, it’s easy for misinformation to run wild. On May 9th, from 8:30am – 10am, we’ll...
