Guinn turning profits with Aspen Financial

     By Judy DeLoretta
     View staff writer
      In 1992, Jeff Guinn walked away from his comfortable job in banking, and his job working for a father who has been in the public eye since Guinn started school in 1965 in Las Vegas.
      "My dad (Gov. Kenny Guinn) was superintendant of schools while I was a student, he was president of the bank I worked for and now he's the governor," Guinn said. "He was ever-present in my life, so friends expressed their surprise and concern when I decided to branch out on my own to sell real estate."
      After a successful run as an agent, Guinn decided to get into the loan funding side of the business. Last month, his friends, colleagues -- and yes, his dad -- helped Guinn celebrate four years of consistent profits at his company, Aspen Financial.
      It was tough when Guinn went out on his own, but he said he did it with plenty of moral support from his family.
      "Growing up as a Guinn -- and with a father who was superintendant of schools -- wasn't always easy," Guinn said. "I mean sure, there are advantages but there were disadvantages, too. I was always nervous if my dad was touring my school and I might be in a fight in the hallway."
      Guinn said the expectations in his family were high. Although he said the pressure wasn't always fun while growing up, it provided him with the belief he could do anything, including run a successful and honest loan funding business.
      "People thought I was a little crazy wanting to get into the real estate market when it was flooded with a few companies that controlled a lot of the Las Vegas market," Guinn said.
      Even when Guinn and his friends and partners leased a 14,000-square-foot office, the criticisms continued.
      "My dad yelled at me for leasing so much space. Our dream was for me, my brother Steve and our dad to have our offices here," Guinn said. "But then Dad came here and told us how to run our business. That's just Kenny though. He's so down to earth.
      "Once Dad got an opportunity to go to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for $1, then decided to run for governor, we joked about how soon he could get his stuff out of the office. I think he still owes my brother some rent."
      It was a gamble for Jeff Guinn, who had never run a business of his own. He always worked for someone else, including his father, who as bank president of U.S. Bank employed his son to handle mortgage loans.
      But this time, there were business fees, taxes and the discovery that without a lot of up-front money, many businesses are doomed to failure. Guinn instead decided to raise the cash to start Aspen Financial with no debt.
      "I felt that was important, because if we were going to do loans, we didn't want to fund loans while we owed money elsewhere," Guinn said.
      So Aspen didn't fund loans in its first two months of business. But six months later, the company did $34 million in loan volume. Aspen Financial and Aspen Mortgage specialize in real estate and trust deed loans.
      It was Guinn's first sign that he could do well on his own. And since he more recently became "Jeff Guinn, the governor's son," people listen.
      "I admit, the name might get me in the door, but that's about it," Guinn said. "From then on, it's up to me to do my job well -- to offer real estate investment options honestly and appropriately."
      And after four years competing with some of the big guys, Aspen has turned profits every year.
      "We have more than $95 million in outstanding loans we service in Las Vegas, never had a recorded default and our delinquency rate is zero," Guinn said.
      He stresses it has nothing to do with being a governor's son.