Funeral Director Daily

Working towards an acquistion

By Funeral Director Daily / January 8, 2019 /

A really nice article about Leo and Jeff Marshall, the father/son team that has owned and operated the Marshall Funeral Home in Greenville, Michigan since 1967 was published in the Daily News of Montcalm and Ionia Counties of Michigan the other day.  You can read the article here. It is a really fine article that…

Toronto Cemeteries returned to Residents

By Funeral Director Daily / January 7, 2019 /

Over the past couple of years we have written about cemeteries that get very little attention, are losing money, and are looking for someone to take them over.  Many times, they have passed simply by default to the government entity where the cemetery is located. Over the weekend we read an article that you can…

Maintaining -and Adding To – Your Heritage Business

By Funeral Director Daily / January 7, 2019 /

Great funeral homes and cemeteries don’t just pop up and start making lots of money overnight.  Matter of fact, it is very rare that a death care business can open in a new locale served by others and make a profit within the first couple of years.  New operations have to be ready to spill…

Funeral Directors and Their Community

By Funeral Director Daily / January 4, 2019 /

It is pretty common for local funeral home owners to be involved in their local Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, American Legion and the like.  It is also pretty common that as these business minded folk earn respect in their communities they are asked to serve on school boards, city councils, and bank boards.  Those type…

The Reverence of Earth Burial?

By Funeral Director Daily / January 3, 2019 /

It’s a proven point that if you want to build a successful business and follow the American dream of making a lot of money, you need to deliver on and provide, at the right price, what the consumer public wants.  I was fortunate enough about six years ago to listen to a friend of mine…

Who Might the Buyers Be

By Funeral Director Daily / January 2, 2019 /

So, as Monday afternoon churned into our New Year’s Eve revelry we did get to see the equity markets take a final upturn, but for the year we saw the Dow Jones average lose 5.6%, the Nasdaq lose 3.9%, and the S & P 500 lose 6.2% of its value.  All in all, the major…

Could we have an LBO or Hostile Takeover in the Death Care Industry

By Funeral Director Daily / December 31, 2018 /

One of the things that I find interesting about the death care industry is the continuing consolidation and spin-offs that seem to always occur.  Get a few funeral directors together and they are always talking about who is acquiring who. I’ve been around long enough to see upstart Prime Succession grow fast and then be…

Christmas, Grief, and Your Funeral Home’s Options

By Funeral Director Daily / December 21, 2018 /

It was back in April 1977 that I remember losing my father to a sudden heart attack while he was serving at a funeral.  As a teenager you remember where you were when you were first told and then the rest of the visitation, funeral, and following time is somewhat forgot except for a few…

SCI to again sponsor float at Tournament of Roses Parade

By Funeral Director Daily / December 20, 2018 /

In a press release that you can read here it was announced that Service Corporation International will, for the 11th consecutive year, be a major sponsor of the “Donate Life” float at the 130th Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 2019, in Pasadena, California. SCI and its brand, Dignity Memorial, will be the sponsor…

Interest Rates and the Seller’s Reality

By Funeral Director Daily / December 19, 2018 /

If everything goes as expected today, most people are looking for a 0.25% rise in the Federal Funds interest rate as set by the Federal Reserve Board.  There has been a lot of talk that the rate, which if raised today for a 4th time this year, has had something to do with the volatility…