Introducing Mike Sharp

I’d like to introduce our newest staff member, Mike Sharp, head of business development in our Atlanta office (Thought Mechanics). We are so excited that Mike and his team are now an integral part of RT Design Group. I sat down with Mike to ask him a few questions for our blog. Tell me about your past experiences. How did you get to where you are today? Right after graduating from Southern Methodist University in 2008 with degrees in Management and Finance, I took a job working with a start-up indoor tanning salon chain and quickly took over running day-to-day operations, as well as directing marketing efforts. I realized the importance of e-marketing early on, so I spent about nine months learning everything I could about PPC, organic SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing. I pursued several lines of research related to organic SEO, and I began to see outstanding results. In early 2010, I moved to Boston to direct marketing for a tanning booth manufacturer. We shifted marketing efforts to cost-effective online marketing activities with very high returns on investment. In August of 2010, together with Barry Goodnight, I launched Thought Mechanics. We put together a team of employees to produce high quality websites at reasonable prices. This spring, we realized that we needed to merge with a bigger company with access to more employees and resources in order to meet the demands of our market. RT Design Group was a perfect fit, and we are so excited to merge our two brands. What are you looking forward to about being a part of the RT Design Group team? At RT Design Group, the employees are all very specialized; they work exclusively within their area of expertise. This allows us to deliver a very high quality product across all of our service areas. I am also looking forward to servicing clients of all sizes — from small, one-person businesses to large, national corporations. What do you value in web design and web-based marketing? I view a company’s website as its hardest-working employee. The highest quality sites exist 24 hours a day to promote that company’s brand. They never sleep; they can deal with multiple customers at a time; they require fewer resources than their human counterparts. Companies that understand the value of digital marketing will continue to experience success as they utilize the web’s maximum potential. I enjoy working in such a dynamic industry and being on the forefront of the technological revolution. Tell me about your life outside of your work. I am an avid traveler — I have been fortunate to have visited 33 countries. I try

to take every opportunity to learn about various cultures of the world through real-life experience. I love motorcycles, soccer, and football. We are so excited to have Mike on our team!