Business

Taking some cues from Starbucks

By Funeral Director Daily / November 4, 2020 /

So, I warned you earlier in the week that I would be doing a column on what was happening with Starbucks and why I thought there was enough general information in what I had heard that it would be useful to people who operate businesses in the death care realm. To refresh you, I had…

The humanity of being a funeral director

By Funeral Director Daily / November 2, 2020 /

This isn’t what I was planning to write about an hour ago.  It’s Friday as I write this and earlier this morning I was on the treadmill watching CNBC with Jim Cramer as he was interviewing Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.  I thought the interview was very informative on how Starbucks was using the pandemic, that…

As California goes. . . so goes the nation?

By Funeral Director Daily / October 29, 2020 /

We are in the season of elections and when I was younger there was an old adage of Presidential elections that went like this, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.”  I recently read this article in the Los Angeles Business Journal entitled, “Business Slows for LA Funeral Homes”, and wondered if as the funeral…

It’s not such a somber place anymore

By Funeral Director Daily / October 28, 2020 /

My first real recollection of a funeral was when my father’s mother, my grandmother, died when I was five years old.  And, interestingly enough, even with my family in the funeral profession, what I remember about the “funeral” was not being allowed to go.  I can actually remember being held at home with a babysitter,…

Playing the “What if” game

By Funeral Director Daily / October 27, 2020 /

If you want to stay ahead of the curve in whatever you are doing I would suggest to play the “What if” game every once in a while just to see where you are standing.  The “What if” game can be played in all lines of business and is, in my opinion, a great exercise…

Are you diligent enough to succeed

By Funeral Director Daily / October 23, 2020 /

One of the great things about not working every day anymore is that I now have the time to be “intentional” about myself.  Back in the day of every day work my routine was get up, shower, a quick cup of coffee with a glance at the daily newspaper, and then off to work by…

The problem with cemeteries

By Funeral Director Daily / October 20, 2020 /

We’ve now moved into the 4th quarter of 2020 and with that timing we have had 6 full months of the COVID world results in death care.  We know from listening to the news, looking at public death care company reports, and anecdotal reports from our colleagues that while funeral homes have been learning to…

What are the consumer trends

By Funeral Director Daily / October 19, 2020 /

I left full-time employment in the funeral profession at the end of the 2013 calendar year.  At that time I was aware of a young, emerging company called Passare, whose web-site you can see here.  What I remember of Passare is that, I believe,  it was a product of Funeral Directors Life Insurance Company (FDLIC)…

Preneed sales. . . . The Elevator Pitch

By Funeral Director Daily / October 16, 2020 /

The other day I wrote an article that was titled “Selling Preneed. . .   .positively” which you can read here.  The bottom line of that article was to illustrate when advising on preneed, to promote preneed in a positive fashion.   I went on to say how, when I did seminars on funeral pre-arrangements, I tried…

Funeral Directors: Know that you are appreciated

By Funeral Director Daily / October 14, 2020 /

For almost 35 years I went about doing my job as an owner/operator of a mortuary.  I answered calls, I did some embalmings, I met with families, and I conducted thousands of funerals.  I know that by my nature that I am a “people pleaser” and I always strived to please everyone whom I was…