If your marketing isn’t making the phone ring, it’s decoration. I built Forty-Second Street to be the marketing team a contractor would hire full-time if they could — Brand Architects who know your market, pick up the phone, and measure everything in booked jobs.
Why I built Forty-Second Street
I’ve spent more than 30 years building brands. I started Forty-Second Street in 2010 because I kept watching great contractors lose jobs to competitors who were simply easier to find — and easier to trust.
Today homeowners don’t just Google. They ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI who to call. So we build websites that make the phone ring, then get you found on Google, the map and AI — and we stay with you to keep the calls coming.
Think of us as your in-house marketing team, just outside your door. You get a whole senior team for less than it costs to build one in-house — and I’m personally accountable for the results.
Our mission and vision
Make the phone ring for the local businesses that keep our communities running.
We build websites, brands and marketing that turn being found into booked jobs. Then we stay beside you to keep the calls coming.
Every great local contractor is the first name Google, the map and AI recommend.
We want owners to get their evenings, weekends and vacations back, because their marketing works even when they are not.
Our core values
Six promises we hire for, train on and hold each other to. If we ever miss one, we want to hear about it.
Results over decoration
Pretty is not the goal. Calls, booked jobs and revenue are. We measure our work by what it does for your business.
Tell the truth
Real numbers, plain words and honest advice, even when it is not what you hoped to hear. No fake stats, no hidden fees.
Own it
We do what we say, when we say. If something slips, we raise our hand first and fix it fast.
Build to last
Brands, websites and relationships built for the long haul. Our core team has worked together for about ten years.
Stay curious
Google and AI change every month. We test, learn and adapt so you never have to chase the next trend alone.
Treat it like our own
We spend your budget like it is our money and care about your reputation like it carries our name, because it does.
Good people, good energy, good work.
Marketing is stressful enough. At Forty-Second Street, a positive culture is not a perk. It is a policy, and it applies to our team, our clients and our partners.
- Lead with solutions. Bring a fix, or at least a next step, with every problem.
- Assume good intent. Ask first, judge never.
- No gossip. We talk to people, not about them.
- Respect everyone. Clients, vendors and teammates get the same courtesy.
- Disagree well. Debate ideas openly and kindly, then commit as one team.
- Celebrate wins out loud. Big launches and small ones.
If we ever fall short of this, tell us. You can reach Mike directly through our contact page.
How we got here
We didn’t start as an SEO shop. We started as brand builders — and that’s still how we think.
Started in Maryville, Tennessee
Mike opened Forty-Second Street as a brand and design studio — logos, identity, print and websites for local businesses.
From logos to the whole machine
Clients kept asking for more, so we grew into websites, SEO, ads and content. Every plan still starts with the brand. We’re Brand Architects first.
The team comes together
The core of today’s 12-person team has worked side by side for about ten years. That’s rare in this business — and it’s why our clients stay.
A second home in Tampa Bay
We opened our Florida office to serve Tampa, Wesley Chapel and the Tampa Bay area — same team, same standards, 42sd.com.
Two books on getting found and staying chosen
Mike wrote down what works in two books: VISIBLE, on getting found, and KEPT, the book about customers who come back.
The marketing team for home-service pros
HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical and 20+ more trades. Websites that make the phone ring, plus SEO, Google & AI search, ads and branding — all under one roof.
How we work, in plain words
Six things you can count on from every person on our team.
We stay together
Most of us have worked side by side for ten years. The person who learns your business this year is still here next year.
A real person follows up
Your calls are answered day or night, and every message goes to a real person on our team. We reply fast and we follow through.
Straight talk, always
We tell you what’s working, what isn’t, and what we’d do with your money if it were ours.
Measured in booked jobs
Calls, bookings and revenue. Not likes, not “impressions.” If it doesn’t move the phone, we change it.
You own everything
Your website, logo, graphics and accounts belong to you. Always. No hostage situations.
Mornings build, afternoons meet
We guard focused work time so projects ship on schedule. Client meetings happen after lunch, when we’re all yours.
One team. Ten years together.
No freelancers you’ve never met. No offshore hand-offs. Twelve people across Tennessee and Florida who act like your own marketing department.
Mike Carleton, Founder
Sets the plan, owns the results, and is on your first call.
The Brand Architects
Logos, brand identity, print and the look of everything you put out.
The site builders
Fast websites built to book jobs, with call tracking and online booking built in.
The visibility team
Google, the map pack, and getting named when homeowners ask ChatGPT who to call.
The call makers
Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Meta ads, judged by cost per booked job.
Your go-to people
One point of contact, monthly reports, quarterly strategy sessions — and a real voice on the phone.
Everything that makes the phone ring
Websites that book jobs
A fixed-price website rebuild in 30 days, with call tracking, online booking and missed-call recovery.
See the plan & price →Get found on Google & AI
Local SEO, your Google Business Profile, and showing up when homeowners ask AI who to hire.
How we get you found →Ads that bring calls
Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Meta ads, managed for booked jobs — not clicks.
See ad management →Logos & brands that last
Custom logos and brand identity from the team that has been building brands since 2010.
See brand work →Why we exist
Make every home-service company we work with the most visible, most trusted and most-booked business in its market — on every screen a homeowner uses to choose.
A world where the best contractor wins the job — not just the one with the biggest ad budget.
About us, answered
Who owns Forty-Second Street?
Mike Carleton founded Forty-Second Street in 2010 and still runs it today. Your first call is with Mike.
How big is your team?
Twelve people, all on one in-house team. The core of the team has worked together for about ten years.
Where are you located?
We have two offices: Maryville / Knoxville, Tennessee (42st.com) and Tampa Bay / Wesley Chapel, Florida (42sd.com).
Do you only work with home-service contractors?
Home services is our specialty — HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical and 20+ other trades. We also work with medical and dental offices, professional services and other local businesses.
Who owns my website and logo?
You do. We never own your website, graphics or accounts.
What happens on the first call?
It’s a free 30-minute call with Mike. We look at how customers find you today and what’s costing you calls. Zero pitch — you keep the plan either way.