After 20 years of traditional ownership, John Shaw of Shaw Solar made the switch to an employee-owned co-op model in March. Fourteen employee owners had signed on less than a month into the transition.
The shift from sole proprietorship to an employee-owned model took place in early March, Shaw said, and was inspired by a desire to give loyal employees a bigger share of the company.
Making the change wasn’t easy, Shaw said, and ensuring all the i’s were dotted and t’s were crossed involved the company working with the state, First Southwest Bank and several attorneys – but he considers the outcome well worth the labor involved.
“I felt like I certainly didn’t build this company on my own, and it’s our 20th anniversary, and I felt like it was time for the employees to start making more money and having an ownership stake in the company,” he said.
Fourteen senior employees out of the company’s total 30 were asked to be employee owners, and all accepted, Shaw said. Other employees may have the opportunity to join the company as employee owners after they’ve clocked two years on the job, he said.
Under the new model, profits on top of base employee wages are disbursed among all employee owners, rather than going only to him, he said. If the company’s profits hold steady, that will amount to an additional 20% to 25% profit on top of each employee’s base wages, he said.
The overall management structure at Shaw Solar will remain largely the same, Shaw said, but employee owners will serve on a range of boards and committees in addition to their daily work, influencing the company’s finances, business operations and culture.
Shaw sees the shift as a positive not only for the company and its employees, but for customers, too.
“Having more people thinking about things from an owner’s eye … as opposed to an employee’s eye, means you can really move the needle and create a stronger business,” he said. “... This really puts an owner on every roof, on every job that we’re doing. … They’ll just have that next level of pride in what they do, and that will translate to improved customer service.”
Shaw said business has been stable and growing, and seen consistent year-over-year growth – even throughout a difficult 2025-26 winter tourist season for many businesses.
Shaw Solar has expanded over time to include batteries and EV chargers along with its solar offerings, and recently tossed solar powered heating and cooling in the mix. The move to employee ownership is part of what helped make the expansion possible, Shaw said.
“If we weren’t going employee owned, I don’t think I would have had the ability to start that heating and cooling (part of) the company,” he said. “Knowing that was happening, it really allowed us to branch into a different business unit.”
Shaw said other rural businesses – especially in La Plata County – could benefit from shifting to an employee-owned model.
“I think this serves as an example of what other company owners could do,” he said. “... Being an owner here is a pathway to homeownership, and being able to start a family and stay here. I really want to keep young families here, and not have all the houses being filled with part-time residents.”
Shaw Solar is not the only company in Colorado making the switch to an employee-owned model. The trend has quickly grown across the state in recent years.
“Colorado’s fast becoming the worker-owned cooperative capital of America,” Shaw said. “... Going toward an employee-owned company is an amazing way to honor the legacy of not only the person who started the company, but much more important than that, to honor all the hard work of the people who helped build the company.”
epond@durangoherald.com
