Funeral Director Daily

Who might be our future competition?

By Funeral Director Daily / June 12, 2025 /

    Smart companies look for “Line Extention” to help them grow.  I learned a little about “Line Extension” in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when I served on a Board of Wells Fargo.  At that time, CEO Richard Kovacevich realized that Wells Fargo had satisfied customers in the banking business.  He realized that…

A four-day work week for funeral service professionals?

By Funeral Director Daily / June 11, 2025 /

      If you have been involved in leadership for any length of time you will find that any decision that you make, even if you think it is the greatest decision in the world, will not be taken as beneficial to all parties.  Someone down the line of employment will wish the decision…

Funeral Home acquisitions: Why not royalties as part of the consideration?

By Funeral Director Daily / June 10, 2025 /

  The negotiations to sell and or purchase a funeral home generally involve “what one is buying and how are they paying for it”.  It’s pretty common to hear the terms “asset sale”, “real estate”, “convenants not to compete”, “consulting agreement”, “equipment”, “inventory”, and “goodwill” among the nomenclature of the transaction that takes place between…

It’s “What you Know”

By Funeral Director Daily / June 9, 2025 /

There’s always been an argument about successful businesses. . . Did they get to be successful because of “Who they know” or “What they know”?  I’m guessing that both circumstances will help, but in today’s world there is no doubt that you need the “What you know” side of the equation to make intelligent and…

Outside the Box: 4 Things I think will eventually come to Death Care

By Funeral Director Daily / June 9, 2025 /

    Over my lifetime some things have just stuck with me.  A couple of those things are quotes that share a message of complicated projects or ideas that might seem insurmountable but also give the hope to try. . . because maybe the idea might just work.   The first one I remember is…

CANA says “rate of cremation increase” is decelerating

By Funeral Director Daily / June 6, 2025 /

  The percentage rate of cremation disposition for all deaths in the United States continues to rise, but the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) says in a recent press release that that rate is “decelerating” in its growth.  It is, however, a common statistical occurrence for growth rates to slow once the percentage hits…

Bridging the Gap: A newly licensed Funeral Director’s perspective on tackling the industry’s staffing shortage

By Funeral Director Daily / June 5, 2025 /

  I.  Introduction The funeral profession is built on compassion, care, and continuity – values that have long been passed down through generations. Traditionally, many funeral homes were family-run businesses, with children stepping into the roles of their parents and grandparents. I saw this legacy firsthand during my time at Leverton & Sons in London, a firm…

Why so much anxiety?

By Funeral Director Daily / June 4, 2025 /

    First of all, you have to understand where I come from.  I have a conservative nature to me that all my friends know about.  For instance, I’ll play the shot to the center of the green and go for the safe par instead of trying to drop a shot over sand and water…

“Death should be inconvenient”

By Funeral Director Daily / June 3, 2025 /

  I have a retired Lutheran clergy friend who, when we were both working, was not hesitant to tell families that “Death should be inconvenient”.  That sentence usually came during an arrangement conference when families struggled to try to fit in a funeral or memorial service between grandchildren’s youth sports events, family vacations, and holidays.…

It’s nice to receive a little recognition

By Funeral Director Daily / June 2, 2025 /

  Funeral Director Daily has been a labor of love for me since the inception.  And, I’m especially grateful for those sponsors who are willing to step up and provide the funding for some of the costs it takes to keep a website blog on the web and disseminated five days per week to interested…