The business news last week was centered on the Producer’s Price Index (PPI) rising 0.6% in the month February, which equates to an annual 7.2% inflationary rate. That reading, after being lower and even negative for a couple of months prior, has caused many pundits to opine that getting rid of inflation in…
Read MoreFor the first time that I can remember, the Cremation Association of North America’s (CANA) Peer Support online meeting is asking all funeral workers to invite their spouse for tomorrow night’s group get-together. According to a recent press release from CANA, here’s why: “A funeral professional may be called upon as an…
Read MoreFriday was March 15 or the “Ides of March”. And, it appears that Friday, March 15, 2024, was a better day for funeral service than Friday, March 15, 44 BC was for Julius Caesar. Funeral service has been hit with a lot of bad publicity lately about certain funeral providers not always…
Read MoreIt’s the “Ides of March” today — representing the 74th day of the Roman calendar and the day in ancient Rome that was the deadline for settling debts from the previous year. . . .Of course, the “Ides of March”, or the 15th of March, has also became known for betrayal…
Read MoreIf you are an independent funeral home owner you know it is not all about just being a great funeral director and/or embalmer anymore. You need to be a solid business-person and understand how the revenue you take in for your services moves to the bottom line as profits without getting gobbled up…
Read MoreBUSINESS
Does the latest Producer Price Index put funeral homes between a rock and a hard place?
The business news last week was centered on the Producer’s Price Index (PPI) rising 0.6% in the month February, which equates to an annual 7.2% inflationary rate. That reading, after being lower and…
Friday was a “Great Day” for funeral service
Friday was March 15 or the “Ides of March”. And, it appears that Friday, March 15, 2024, was a better day for funeral service than Friday, March 15, 44 BC was for Julius…
“See No Fees” looks to funeral industry for growth
If you are an independent funeral home owner you know it is not all about just being a great funeral director and/or embalmer anymore. You need to be a solid business-person and understand…
FINANCE
Our Take: Park Lawn/Carriage Services 2023 dance ending with no agreement probably worked out best for all concerned
Back in 2017 when I served on the board of the University of Minnesota I had a hand in the hiring of new Head Football Coach P.J. Fleck. Coach Fleck is still…
Park Lawn Corp reports 2023. . . Revenues increase 6.6%
Park Lawn Corporation (PLC), a publicly-held funeral home and cemetery operator reported their 2023 4th Quarter and 2023 Full-Year financial results last week. In those results, which you can see here, the…
Carriage Services’ Mel Payne transitions to advisory role at company
Mel Payne has been listed as the co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board at funeral home and cemetery operator Carriage Services since 1991. In the company’s 2023 Year End Report which was made…
REGULATIONS
Friday was a “Great Day” for funeral service
Friday was March 15 or the “Ides of March”. And, it appears that Friday, March 15, 2024, was a better day for funeral service than Friday, March 15, 44 BC was for Julius…
We now live in the “Information” world. . . time to put prices online or risk being “Gone with the Wind”
I’ve talked about the book, Megatrends, by John Naisbitt before. It was published in 1982 and sold 14 million copies and after reading it about the time it was written, its “Social…
Grief relief — it comes in all shapes and sizes
I probably don’t write enough about some aspects of Death Care. I get caught up in the business of funeral homes or the new products that help funeral directors and others do their…
CEMETERY
CREMATION
Are you registered for CANA’s “Thinking Green” cremation symposium?
It is a only a little more than a month away. . . .are you ready to attend? The “It” I’m referring to is the “Thinking Green” Cremation Symposium hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada,…
Another crematory battle. . . this one is different
Just a couple of days ago Funeral Director Daily brought you an article about a group or residents who live in a neighborhood where a crematory is being built. As many times happens these days,…
PRENEED
“Preneed” or “Funeral Contribution Funds”
There is an old saying that goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink”. I think that the meaning of that phrase, in human terms is something…
Who will be the “Disruptive Force” in Death Care?
About a month ago I read this article from Yahoo Finance titled, “Retail employees are working fewer hours. Here’s why that is a risk to the economy”. While the article was good and…
Can Preneed lead funeral homes forward
If you operate or work at a funeral home you know that there is a lot of change going on. . . . .Let’s see, there is less church membership leading to less church services. …
PRODUCTS
“See No Fees” looks to funeral industry for growth
If you are an independent funeral home owner you know it is not all about just being a great funeral director and/or embalmer anymore. You need to be a solid business-person and understand…
Will Prelude be the product?
I’m always searching the web for things that might be tied in to the funeral/cremation or greater Death Care business world. Just the other day I came across a website for a…
Who will be the “Disruptive Force” in Death Care?
About a month ago I read this article from Yahoo Finance titled, “Retail employees are working fewer hours. Here’s why that is a risk to the economy”. While the article was good and…