Business
Today is already the first week day of June 2024. . . . At least in my part of the world Summer is in full-swing. And as we move into June we are leaving all the Death Care news of May behind us and heading into the final month of the 2024’s 2nd…
2023 and 2024 have brought up lots of discussion about licensure for morticians, funeral directors, embalmers, transport operators, cremation operators, and removal technicians in the Death Care profession. Much of the discussion was started because of the low numbers of funeral professionals seeking job openings and the many openings left vacant. However,…
I’m one of the lucky ones who receive a text message from industry veteran Danny Jefferson everyday. His texts can be inspirational, aspirational, or simply good business thoughts. The other day I received this text from Danny, “Perceptions are reality to most people. Perceptions are extremely hard to change”. Receiving…
Alan Wolfelt is one of the great death care eductors of this generation and when I get a chance to read his works I always learn something. In the latest edition of NFDA’s The Director magazine Wolfelt authors an article entitled “Efficiency does not equal Effectiveness”. In that article Wolfelt makes the case…
When I was looking for material for a short Memorial Day piece I came across this website of the American Battle Monuments Commission which lists and shows, with pictures, all of the American cemeteries across the world that our county maintains in order to let our Veterans, and those that loved them, always…
Dreams, ambitions, expansion, strategy, and growth all find their way into funeral home transactions
Interest rates have risen, inflation has caused prices to move upward, but Death Care businesses, especially funeral homes continue to find ways to transition ownership. There’s been a discussion about what will the return to normal after the pandemic coupled with some financial upheaval because of the economics of today do to the…
Is “Service” more important than “Convenience and Price”? That’s an interesting question that some businesses are asking themselves today. . . . .and the answer is “It Depends”. Just over the last weekend I came upon two articles — one pertaining to Walmart and the other to their rival Target. In…
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to visit with many from the “Death Care” or “Funeral” industry. Those discussions made me realize that our profession has came a long way from the days of individual mortuaries owned only by individuals or families. By some accounts there are about…
During this week I read two articles and when I did I wondered how the subject of each might affect funeral homes and the funeral business going forward. The articles included this one from Reuters titled “U.S. banks report weaker loan demand, Fed survey says” and this article from Morningstar titled “U.S. consumers…
Last week I again had the privilige to attend what is now known as the “Tom Johnson Memorial Classic“. The “Classic” is part golf, part Death Care, but is really all about “Relationship Building and Friendship”. This year’s “Classic” was the 41st annual event. I’ve been to about 25 or so of…
