- July 2, 2026
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Over the last four years, Jason Schreyer has fielded frequent calls from private equity companies and other types of investors interested in his business. But the founder of Fort Myers-based Sunset Air & Home Services has never considered going that route — no matter how much money he’s been offered.
He’s known several people who have and now regret it. “It basically was the demise of their legacy,” says Schreyer, 56. “They don’t have any of their original employees left anymore, and it all turned into nothing but sales and no relationships.”
Schreyer also knows his employees are a big part of the success of his company, which was founded in 1999 and pivoted from working on new construction projects to equipment service and replacement after the 2008-09 recession. So that’s why transitioning to an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) was the right choice for him. “The people that got me here, I want to make sure they’re well taken care of,” he says of the company that does about $15 million a year in revenue and has a payroll of over 50 employees.
ESOPs are basically retirement plans where workers get an ownership stake in the company. The company contributes shares of its stock or cash to buy stock into a trust fund, and shares in the trust are allocated to individual employee accounts. Those allocations are typically made either based on pay or time with the company, and employees acquire an increasing right to the shares in their account as they gain seniority.
Schreyer learned about the option from a business friend of his, who had helped other clients set them up. After doing some additional research, he decided an ESOP was the right move for him, and the business. “It just made all the right sense to do it,” he says. “It was a very good deal for myself as well as my employees.”
He worked with Pace Financial Group, which carried out all the evaluations and other steps to make the transition. “It is a little tasking when you’re having to produce so much information,” says Schreyer. “It’s about a one- to two-year process before it’s 100% done. But once you get through the initial few months, it becomes much easier.” (With offices in Naples and Indianapolis, Pace Financial is one of the largest ESOP consultants in the region.)
Companies have different options when setting up an ESOP in terms of how quickly employees become vested, which is the point when they own 100% of the assets in their account. Schreyer chose to have his employees be vested within three years.
Doing so not only provides them with a stable retirement plan — not always a given in trade businesses — but also provides extra incentive to contribute to the company’s success. “I think that it keeps people a lot sharper at their jobs,” he says. “They want to do more. It also shows our customers that we’re committed to our employees and the community.”
That’s important for a business built predominantly on referrals and word of mouth. “I never did a lot of advertising over the years,” says Schreyer, who grew up in Southwest Florida. “It’s just about just knowing all the right people and treating people the right way. I’ve always built it into everyone here to have a positive attitude every day and show people you can be a successful business and still do it the right way.”
Sunset Air & Home Services currently has 53 employees and has grown from a $5-million company to a $15-million company in the last five or six years. Active hurricane seasons in that time period have contributed some to that growth. “But we were on a very big upward swing anyway,” says Schreyer. “That was just a little bit more of a magnifier to help.”
Sunset Air & Home Services introduced the ESOP transition in October 2025, and Schreyer has gotten a lot of positive feedback from his employees, especially the long-term ones. “The older crew that’s been here and been around the block a time or two, they understand that this is a great opportunity for them to have something after working for so long for someone,” he says. “Some of the young guys here that are only a couple years in, they don’t quite understand it. But we’re trying to work with them to make them understand.”
Transitioning to an ESOP has plenty of benefits for Schreyer too. “One of the factors that really helped me make the decision was that if something ever happens to me from this point on, the company will carry on as is,” he says. “There won’t be a lot of things my family would have to deal with; everything is in place now.”
He advises other business owners to consider the option at their own companies. “I would tell them that if they’re in the market for wanting to step back and possibly sell their company, I would highly recommend they take the time necessary to at least evaluate an ESOP for their business, especially if they have a lot of longtime employees,” he says. “I certainly wouldn’t be where I’m at if I didn’t have more than 15 employees who have been with me over 20 years.”
