Lyle and Taylor Haas on Colorado Realty and Property Management, Inc.’s Family Business Succession
Starting a successful property management (PM) company is a feat in itself. But how does it stay prosperous?
Colorado Realty and Property Management, Inc., is an outstanding example of successful succession planning for a PM company. The company serves Colorado, particularly the Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs areas, and continues to grow under dynamic family leadership.
Jeremy from Strategic PM sat down with Lyle Haas, President and Managing Broker of the company, and his daughter, Taylor, who is the Director of Client Success and the Business Development Manager team lead. The two shared gems on hard work, creating a shared culture, and the importance of setting boundaries. Find out their sound advice for family-run businesses.
How Colorado Realty and Property Management, Inc. Became a Family Affair
Lyle and his wife, Paula, created Colorado Realty and Property Management, Inc. 17 years ago. They started with zero properties, but Lyle had been in real estate before, so he had some know-how in the business. He reckoned that the PM industry was ripe for innovation and competition, and he saw an opportunity to build a business.
Lyle built the company with the end in mind, something common to entrepreneurs. For him, the goal was to eventually sell it, not have his daughter take over down the road.
But circumstances changed over time. Taylor, now 27, learned the business at a young age. At just eight years old, she started getting lots of exposure to the organization. She would come home from school and her parents would be busy at work on the company. She’d go on walk-throughs, attend showings, and hear her parents talking about emergencies after hours. She was exposed to the time, commitment, stress, and strategy that it takes to build a company.
Taylor went off to college at 18, and though she started with a major in the arts and sciences, she eventually changed her major to business. She attended her first convention during college and saw how big the business really was. She went to the first-ever PM grow summit and then to NARPM’s Broker/Owner Conference & Expo in Maui. She met a lot of smart and successful people during these two pivotal trips. Until then, she didn’t know anyone else who was a property manager or anyone that wanted to be one. It was just her parents’ jobs.
She began to grasp, however, that this wasn’t just a thing her mom and dad started, but it was much bigger.
