Pass It On, Inc. may be one of the best-kept secrets in Colorado Springs, if not the entire country. We do not advertise, send mailers, work trade shows, hand out business cards at social gatherings or call your home at dinnertime. Yet, since 1947 Les Sletta, Don See and Misty Meschter have had the privilege of helping families answer some of the most difficult financial and family relations questions they will ever face. Who takes over when it’s time for the current owner to move on? How do we protect the assets we’ve built over a lifetime? Who takes over managing them in the end?
What do we pass on? We promote the proper transfer of assets, business interests, ideas, responsibility and relationships.
Why families? One prospective client said, “We’re owned by three partners, so we’re not really a family-owned company. We didn’t think you would help us.” Our response, “Your company is owned by three families, so you have at least three times the confusion in trying to work out a plan.” For our purposes, any closely held company is a candidate for what we do, and will someday face the problems we solve. Our current mailing list is comprised of over 1000 client businesses, professional advisors and personal planning accounts, and we personally manage hundreds of family business accounts in more than 40 states and several foreign countries.
The professional lingo for what we do is Business Succession Planning and Estate Coordination for Family-Owned Businesses. Basically, we design plans and funding arrangements to protect family businesses from the many financial disasters that can jeopardize their survival. Our strategies protect the business during the building phase, accumulate money on a tax-favored basis during the profit phase, and transfer the business at the eventual retirement of the owner.
Pass It On
Business owners want to understand and investigate their options for retiring from the company under the most favorable conditions. This is called a Strategic Plan or Exit Strategy.
We also provide for the unplanned transfers that occur following an illness or death of an owner by developing a Contingency Plan for employees and family members. Our approach considers not only these, but other contingencies such as the divorce, bankruptcy or termination of a partner where there is more than one owner.
How do we find new clients? Their accountant, attorney, investment advisor, business coach, or a close personal friend who owns a business introduces us to the majority of our new clients. We don’t chase people – because they run! Rather, we offer an objective review of their situation and the planning they’ve done and suggest any improvements that we think will help them accomplish their business and personal financial objectives.