Early Beginnings
Elliott says his business sense is inherited. He grew up in a family where everyone owned their own businesses, mostly restaurants. Throughout his childhood he always heard that the only way to take control of your destiny was to work for yourself, not for someone else. He also believed in the notion that if you find a way to make a living from something you love, it'll seem a lot less like work. Maybe that sounds easier in theory than in practice, but he started taking control of his destiny early. At age 13, an avid BMX bike racer, Elliott began a small business selling bike parts to friends, buying from a distributor using a tax ID from his father's business. He would get the newest products, use them for a while, then sell them to friends to finance his next purchase. In this way he made sure he always had the best gear while he built up a demand among his friends for the products.

When Elliott turned 16 and got his driver's license, suddenly BMX bikes looked a whole lot less impressive. His interests immediately turned to cars and car audio. He says at that time the Crutchfield catalog became his bible. As with bikes, he found he wanted the best car audio equipment, so he started buying from wholesale distributors again, selling to friends to pay for his car audio habit. Selling speakers and radios soon turned into installing speakers and radios. Eventually he was spending his lunch hours at work with his head buried in other people's cars, installing their tape decks or tweaking their speakers. When the jobs became more complex than what could be accomplished in a parking lot, he talked his father into letting him bring cars home to work on in the garage. Before long, he realized the need to have some kind of retail location.

Sound Waves officially got its start in a small space he rented in the basement of a shopping center for $200 a month when Elliott was 19. He paid for two months, built a small head unit display and a sign out of some scrap wood and he was in business. This was bare bones: No bathroom, no garage and only a small portable heater. In the winter he shoveled snow to make room for installations. In the rain his girlfriend Michelle (now wife) would hold an umbrella over his head while he worked. He had a small window and a door, and a love for what he was doing. For a while this was still a part-time business that he built by word-of-mouth. Sometimes the speed shop in the shopping center would refer customers to him. After about a year of playing at it, Elliott and his wife decided it was time to get serious and make a full-time business out of this hobby. He moved the business to a small location adjacent to a body shop. It had facilities for installations and a small retail area. In fact, the current location is just a few blocks down the same street from where Sound Waves now sits. The company was incorporated in 1991.

Change is Good
Sound Waves has come a long way since those days. Having received seven installer of the year awards, numerous IASCA championships and more than 300 trophies, the company is one of the best in the country.