Sound Investment — Lenexa
company brings music to the ears of employees and customers
By Tim DeBoal, contributing writer
Reprinted with Permission from
The Johnson County Business Times
March 31, 1999
The digital revolution in communications is sweet music to
Robbin Reynolds’ ears. Reynolds is president and co-owner
of Sound Products Inc. based in Lenexa. She and her family have
built a business that today supplies digital background music
and intercom systems to more than 1,500 businesses in the Kansas
City area, as well as Topeka and Wichita in Kansas.
But it wasn’t an overnight sensation.
In 1990, the Minneapolis-based conglomerate 3M was just starting
to provide digital background music to businesses throughout
the country. When a 3M dealership opened here, Sound Products
was ready.
"You didn’t have to buy the dealership rights, but
you committed to performance quotas with 3M," says Reynolds.
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Her father, Fred Reynolds, a radio station owner in Topeka,
was the key to getting Sound Products off the ground. He provided
$250,000 in seed money and secured a bank loan for another $250,000.
Sound Products broke even in 1993. Reynolds’ mother, brother
and sister are co-owners of the business.
Reynolds’ first sale was to the owners of d’Bronx,
a deli on 39th Street in Kansas City, Mo. Owners Robert and
Janet Blume ran another deli in Building 40 in Corporate Woods
at the same time Reynolds worked in Corporate Woods.
"When they opened d’Bronx, I talked to them about
being the first customer for our service. And they have it to
this day," says Reynolds.
When she first started, it was just herself and two technicians.
They put in a lot of hours and had to do a little bit of everything.
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"But to me, it was extremely fun," says Reynolds.
She now provides melodic atmosphere to Hallmark Cards Inc.,
Westlake Hardware, Amoco Corp., Texaco Inc. and Capital Federal
Savings.
Her most recent sale was to supply music to all the Gates Barbecue
restaurants in the area.
What started from scratch has grown into a family business
with $2.5 million in annual revenues. 3M supplies Sound Products
with intercom products, such as wireless headsets, which then
Sound Products sells to quick service businesses like McDonald’s,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King. Sound Products now
employs 12 people.
"I would like to grow the Kansas City operation to about
$5 million," Reynolds says. "Then I envision it to
have further growth by expanding into other metropolitan markets."
Reynolds says her company is developing a Website and plans
to have it established in the next 12 months. She says they’re
also exploring E-commerce.
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Before taking over a president in 1990, Reynolds worked for
Home Box Office in sales and marketing, and also worked in the
venture capital industry.
"It was always my lifelong dream to run my own company.
And I thought it was a good fit. So I came on board and ran
the company," says Reynolds.
Sound Products’ music is now supplied bys Digital Music
Express: with an uplink in Denver to the Telstar Four satellite,
which enables Sound Products to offer 90 different musical formats
to their customers.
Sound Products provides each customer with a satellite dish
and a digital receiver which go for about $1,000 a pop. The
customer then pays Sound Products a monthly fee of $50 to $65
for the use of the equipment and programming. That fee also
includes royalty fees paid for music copyrights.
Reynolds says the soothing tones of background music can help
keep everyone happy.
"Music adds a real benefit to the business workplace from
both a customer and employee standpoint," she says.
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