I’ve said in this forum, while Natural Organic Reduction (what some call human composting) is not for me. . . as an entrepreneur I’m somewhat in awe of how Katrina Spade moved the idea for human disposition from idea to a legal process of disposition. Spade not only had to prove that the concept worked but she had to go to a legislature and convince them that the process would be a choice that should be presented to consumers for […]
Only a couple of weeks ago Funeral Director Daily published an article entitled “Is an Event Center in your business future”. I thought it was a fairly innocuous article about the growth of “event centers” and their potential as an off-site component of a retail death care business — both for direct cremation firms and highly traditional firms. Quite surprisingly to me, the author of that article, I received lots of feedback. At least from what I heard, it turns […]
The Prudential Company has the “Rock of Gibraltar” logo as an iconic brand differentiator. As a matter of fact the brand logo is one of the oldest and most recognizable in the world. . . . .first appearing for Prudential in 1896 when the company stated, “Prudential has the strength of Gibraltar”. . . . . According to the company’s website, the rock is an icon of “strength, stability, expertise, and innovation.” If you are in the cemetery or funeral […]
Over my years in funeral service I operated from two different funeral home buildings. The first building that I operated in was a former residence remodeled over a few times since about 1933 to offer a funeral home operation. In 2006 we moved into a brand new building built exclusively for the funeral and cremation business in, what I think is a great location, right next to the largest cemetery in the area. When I look back what was interesting […]
It is often said that “necessity is the mother of invention”. This article from Manufacturing Business Technology shows us that is the case in Hong Kong at this time as a recent surge in Covid-19 deaths has created a shortage of coffins in the city. The article states that “Hong Kong has reported about 200 deaths daily on average over the past week . . .. The surge has put a strain on mortuaries, and refrigerated containers are being used […]
There is a battle being waged over the human disposition method called “aquamation”, also known as alkaline hydrolysis or flameless cremation. But, most of us are just too busy or are comfortable with disposition in the form of earth burial or cremation to really notice it. I find it interesting in a world where everything seems to be “Green” that more people are not talking about aquamation. According to this article from Time, “aquamation . . remains rare in the […]
Last week I was sent an offering to download the Passare short 26-page ebook entitled “The New Funeral Consumer”. In general, the ebook is based on observations and answers from what Passare says “is (probably) the largest independent funeral study that has ever been conducted. Interviews were conducted with over 3,000 individuals and each were asked hundreds of questions.” I had seen similar surveys before, but must admit that I was fascinated reading the report that was interjected with ideas […]
Every day when I search for articles that relate to our profession I see multiple articles that deal with “Green Burial”. And, if you follow trends, you will know that the rule is that before trends are adopted in common use, they grow in media articles as people are learning about them. So, I see a lot of articles about “Green Burial”, but I have yet to see, at least in my area, an uptick in the practice. Back in […]
It’s been a long-time since the 1995 court case where a Mississippi funeral home owner sued Canadian public funeral home company The Loewen Group for $5 million for what the plaintiff described as a “breach of contract”. The lawsuit led to a $500 million jury award in a Mississippi court and virtually put the Loewen Group out of business. The case had enough “Hollywood” in it to lead Amazon to begin filming in New Orleans this past month for a […]
It’s been almost forty years ago when I had a new idea for a business and approached a well-heeled potential investor. The person did not become an investor but he did send me a note that he wanted to visit about the idea. And, in that note he made this comment that has always stuck with me, “Your idea seems new and different and one would expect it hard to succeed with it. However, before I hear more about it […]
