Forty Under 40: Sean Morrison

Sean Morrison discovered an interest in design while studying architecture at the University of Arkansas.

Only it wasn’t designing buildings or homes. It was graphic and web design. He eventually earned a degree in that field in 2012, and he’s using those skills to build a growing business.

Simplemachine is a full-service online marketing agency offering services that include branding, web design, search engine optimization (SEO) and print/internet advertising.

Morrison started the company in 2013 as a side gig to earn extra income. In just two years, it had become so successful he was able to quit his full-time marketing job to focus on his own business.

“The company I was working for at the time became a client of mine,” he said. “And still is today.”

Simplemachine now has eight employees, between 50 and 100 marketing clients and hosts more than 100 websites. The company recently opened a satellite office in Tulsa, and Morrison said the business is expected to double its sales this year, with a goal of $1 million.

An Ohio native, Morrison said he has long had the ambition of owning his own business. His entrepreneurial spirit began as a teenager when he formed his own lawn cutting company, and continued through college where he taught guitar lessons.

“It’s a passion,” he said. “There are days I can’t shut it off. We love helping business owners, and we love being creative. The past two years we have built one heck of a team.”

Simplemachine has met the requirements to become a certified Google Partner — a globally recognized level of expertise in Google advertising — and the downtown Bentonville agency has garnered numerous accolades, notably the MainStreet Business of the Year last year by the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce.