HEROES FROM WITHIN WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA
WITHIN By promoting and supporting the work of its team members, Sound FX has become a nationally recognized business in Delaware, drawing clients from coast to coast.
Later this month, Sound FX will be opening its second location in Bridgeville, Del. Owner Brian Layton attributes the company’s achievements to its employees, whose talents and hard work attract clients from outside the Delmarva peninsula and beyond. Layton started his own journey as a customer in 1994, an avid supporter of the business which first opened in 1992. Largely inspired by his father—who was a drummer in a rock and roll band— Layton fell in love with music and developed a passion for car audio. After being a customer at Sound FX, “Mike [Wright] invited me to become a salesman in 1998,” Layton said. “Mike was already an owner. Our business relationship developed as we continued to grow together.” Today, both co-own the business. The Lewes store is situated in a very busy area near the intersection of Route 9 and Route 1, which helps increase visibility. Sound FX makes it a point to celebrate the accomplishments of its employees, Layton said, adding, “I’m trying to do my part to give them a platform. The aftermarket is their lynchpin to send their kids to college, to give them a great retirement, to buy their kid a car. As an industry, I don’t think we talk enough about how we’re helping our employees plan for the future as individuals. It’s a passion of mine to have a bigger Sound FX platform,” he noted, “but that stems directly from the employees.”
Driving Business Through Musaic Design and Online Marketing To help celebrate the work of one installer, Layton teamed up with Matt Schaeffer, the 2016 Installer of the Year who joined Sound FX in 2017. “There wasn’t much of a celebration of his work beyond YouTube,” Layton said, adding that Schaeffer promoted his work on YouTube prior to coming to Sound FX. Musaic Design (www.musaicdesign. com) was Schaeffer’s idea, and it’s just his work on the website. “The inspiration behind Musaic is Matt’s,” Layton said. “The website was a push on my part to be facebook.com/MobileElectronics 37
