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Turned On and Tuned In
Company: Sound FX Communications
2073 State Street, Hamden
(203-865-4707)
Principal: Mark Guest
Founded: October 1997
Startup costs: $10,000 Employees: 6
Product/service: Designs and installs mobile electronics and emergency lighting systems. Also installs car audio, alarms, remote starters, cellular phones, two-way radios, strobe and bar lights.
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Business New Haven
11/16/1998
By: BNH
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At first glance, you may think you've arrived in the middle of a high-level government meeting or a sophisticated law-enforcement operation. Police cruisers appear to be surrounding the building and a Secret Service vehicle is parked in the garage.
A government conspiracy? NBC on location with Law & Order? Hardly. It's just business as usual at Sound FX Communications on State Street in Hamden.
Sound FX is a communications company that specializes in mobile electronics and emergency lighting. It's the brainchild of Mark Guest, principal owner of the company. “I had been dreaming of owning my own company for years,” says Guest, a car audio enthusiast. “And one day I just decided to go for it.”
Guest made the leap to small-business owner after eight years as mechanic and fleet manager at American Linen Supply in New Haven. “I just took my knowledge of car audio design and installation and transferred it to the industrial side of the business,” he says. And he hasn't looked back.
Sound FX opened its doors in October 1997, with a start-up investment of about $10,000. He financed the company with his own savings and a family loan, and co-owns the business with his wife Christine and sister-in-law Jennifer Kuczynski (who also work part-time handling the finances and paperwork). The shop features a modest showroom displaying electronic and sound equipment, and a garage space for installation.
This first-time business owner knows he's getting a fast education on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. “The toughest thing about starting your own business is getting the financial resources you need,” says Guest, who has experienced the different lending attitudes of three banks within the last year. “Sometimes it gets a little tight, but you learn to live with it.”
Guest encourages other small-business owners to focus on successful time management. “You can't do everything yourself,” he says. “So the challenge is to find quality people to hire that work the same way you do.”
Sound FX employs six full-time workers including two employees who install car alarms and radios for area car dealerships.
Guest believes that his company can be highly competitive, even though it started out without a large customer base. “We've been successful because of referrals and great word-mouth advertising,” he says. “I know that to be successful we have to have a tremendous repeat customer base.”
This new business owner is finding the old adage is true: Time is money - a lot of time. “I've learned that you have to keep the customer happy no matter what it takes,” says Guest, who normally puts in an 80-hour work week. “The key to my business is understanding that my schedule isn't as important as theirs.” That means being on call day or night for customers - such as landscapers, law-enforcement officers or tow-truck operators who can't afford to have their vehicles tied up in a garage during their daytime work schedules.
Customer satisfaction has been great, says Guest, because the same customers continue to use his service. He believes that in many instances his customers return because of his low rates in comparison to competitors. For installation, rates range from $45 to $55 per hour.
Currently, Sound FX works with 14 municipalities installing lights, two-way radios, computers and other electronic equipment into their vehicles. That includes being on call 24 hours a day for the North Branford and New Canaan police departments. The company has also done work for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the F.B.I., U.S. Customs and U.S. Marshals. The police cars at Sound FX Communications get the total package, from cages and consoles to lights and computers.
According to Guest, the outlook for his company is good. Sound FX has plans to expand on-site and add staff. And success is all the motivation he needs. “When I come in and see my name on the wall - it's a great feeling,” he says. “Each day is a great sense of accomplishment.”
- Todd Goclowski
NewCo. No. 40
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