Funeral Director Daily

Have investors lost faith in Death Care?

By Funeral Director Daily / December 4, 2023 /

  If you are an investor — and with IRA’s and 401K plans virtually everyone is in today’s world — the month of November 2023 gave you reason for optimism.   After a couple of sluggish years of investor equity growth there now seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel with…

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’tis the Season. . . How’s your charitable giving?

By Funeral Director Daily / December 1, 2023 /

  It’s hard not to notice all of the mail I get at this time of the year from charities asking me to remember them in my charitable giving for the year. . . . . I’m guessing that you probably give through your individual status, but have you ever thought of having a program…

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Demographics and location continue to drive physical plant values

By Funeral Director Daily / November 30, 2023 /

    There is no doubt that the value, in totality, of your funeral business not only will come from your operations, but the location of your physical building as well.  Demographics, whether it be influx or outflux, as well as the nature of your community may change the value of the funeral home physical…

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Learning from, and planning for, your funeral business in this economy

By Funeral Director Daily / November 29, 2023 /

    According to this recent article from USA Today “discretionary” consumer spending is down, consumer savings rates have fell, and use of consumer credit card debt has shot up in the last quarter with its largest jump since 1999. . . . That’s probably all good information to know, but what does it tell…

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Employer sponsored healthcare expected to continue to increase in cost

By Funeral Director Daily / November 28, 2023 /

    If your a small business owner in America you are used to having to find solutions to the issues at hand.  Recently its been interest rate increases and inflation that have threatened the bottom line.   And, just when you think you might see some light at the end of the tunnel such…

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Matthews Memorialization segment reports 4Q of lower sales, improved EBITDA

By Funeral Director Daily / November 27, 2023 /

Here’s what Matthews International CEO Joseph C . Bartolacci had to say in this prepared press release about the company’s 4th Quarter (reflecting an October 1 Fiscal Year beginning) operations of their Memorial segment, “The Memorialization segment also performed well again in the fiscal 2023 fourth quarter, completing a very good year. Despite the continued…

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60 Years ago today. . . and the story of the “Kennedy casket”

By Funeral Director Daily / November 22, 2023 /

  Imagine it is lunch time at the funeral home you work at when you get a call from the hospital two miles away that you need to immediately bring the best casket you have to the hospital.  And, by the way, it is for the President of the United States.   That’s the call…

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How do you brand and market your Direct Cremation?

By Funeral Director Daily / November 21, 2023 /

  It’s Thanksgiving time and, of course, we all think about turkeys.   I probably think about turkeys a little differently than you do, however, because at one time I served on the board of a turkey growing operation.  You might not know this but my home state of  Minnesota is the top producer of turkeys…

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“Grief doesn’t wait for a convention”

By Funeral Director Daily / November 20, 2023 /

    Grief happens.  If you have ever lost a loved one you know that. . . . and you know that you don’t get to pick the time and place of when the event precipitating the grief takes place.   In this month’s installment of the participatory Funeral Professionals Peer Support meeting longtime funeral…

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Security National shows the way

By Funeral Director Daily / November 20, 2023 /

  In business it is many times believed that the smaller you are, the more nimble you can be.  And, if you live on a lake or an ocean you probably have heard the phrase that you “can turn around a jetski faster than an aircraft carrier”.   Both of those thoughts came to my…

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