For several years now the stock market has churned out really good results.  If you are a funeral home owner and you have been invested somewhat in the stock market. . . well, good for you.

However, have you extended your foundation for the future in the funeral home business by making a little money in the stock market?  Maybe you have created a little cash to help with improving your main business.  If so, good for you.

But, making sure you extend that foundational level of your funeral home asset is crucial over the long haul.

Over my working years, I didn’t have much extra cash sitting around because I was investing most of what I had into improving my funeral home business.  I added several additions, built a new funeral home, and made acquisitions that required strategically putting money back into the business to, hopefully, gain more business and create more long-term value.

I read this article this week from Yahoo Finance about Warren Buffett and his recent reluctance to purchase anything he doesn’t know.  As a matter of fact, according to the article he has not made a substantial acquisition for over six years.  However, he is not out spending his earnings from Berkshire Hathaway in a reckless way. . . . .he is continuing to invest in the company he knows the best, his Berkshire Hathaway company by purchasing more shares on the open market.

I understand the nature of public companies and how it is easier to create a larger percentage ownership for current stockholders by buying up more of the stock and retiring it or holding it in house.  You cannot do that in a privately held company like a family funeral home.  However, my point here is that Buffett is investing in what he knows because he sees the value of that investment down the road.  As a matter of fact, according to the article, Berkshire Hathaway has repurchased over $12 billion of stock in 2021.  That’s showing a lot of confidence.

You might be surprised to know that death care public companies are doing the same thing.  You can read here that Carriage Services has allocated $63 million to stock buybacks and Service Corporation International (SCI), as this older article states, has authorized $500 million for those purposes.

As a private funeral home how you allocate your profits can make a big difference down the road.  During my ownership time, I found that patience and self-restraint were big assets that I had.  I always put a lot of thought into what I did and weighed my life and its enjoyment against the future of the funeral home.  Most of the time I was able to delay gratification of a new car or new boat purchase, or big vacation and use that cash-flow to build the business assets.  In the long run, I’m of the opinion that strategy really paid off for me.

Do you have the confidence in the future of your business to be re-investing in it like Buffet, Carriage Services, and SCI seem to be doing?  If you are just taking the profits out for your lifestyle, what will be the asset base in 5 years, in 10 years.  As a small business owner, I think it is crucial that you execute a well thought out strategy that balances lifestyle with funeral business asset building. . .not just asset preservation.

More news from the world of Death Care:

Massachusetts lawmakers to introduce bill to legalize alkaline hydrolysis, natural organic reduction.  Metro West Daily News.

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