Yesterday I was reading the Business Section of the Minneapolis Tribune and saw an article entitled, “Corporate Deal Market Slows”. It was an interesting article that had a couple of interesting premises and for someone who enjoys the business world it led to a good read and also allowed me to think of how the…
Just yesterday the Wisconsin 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled on a lawsuit that would have allowed dual ownership of cemeteries and funeral homes in Wisconsin. They upheld the ruling that bans the practice – which is allowed in many states – and leaves the plaintiffs next option to seek Wisconsin Supreme Court judication. You…
We started talking about advertising mix a couple of days ago when we breached the subject of looking at our budget for 2018. Obviously, advertising is a variable cost that we decided you need to know how effective each portion is, what types of advertising work in your community, and how, or if, by knowing…
On Sunday my wife and I dropped off our youngest child for his Freshman year of college at a school about 100 miles away from us. Those of you that have been through this procedure know what it is like. He is not entering the death care profession and I am okay with that. There…
As has become our custom we use Monday mornings for an overview of some of the stories we have seen concerning the death care industry over the last week. Today is no exception and we have linkable articles on topics ranging from a funeral home that was closed down to a Japanese company’s idea to…
BUSINESS
Death Care Out-of-the-Box: The Epilogue
I tried something different last week and had a five-part series on how “Out-of-the-Box” thinking may change Death Care. The series of articles was well recieved and, from feedback I recieved, seemed to…
A 4th possible death care evolution: More government payments
When I look at the long-term trends of democratic countries — countries that I define by having free and fair elections for leaders — I see historical movement towards more “socially economic” values. For…
Who might be our future competition?
Smart companies look for “Line Extention” to help them grow. I learned a little about “Line Extension” in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when I served on a Board of Wells Fargo. …
FINANCE
Dignity Funeral Directors not afraid to make changes, returns to profitability
Dignity Funeral Directors is now the name of a company once known as public company Dignity plc that was taken private in 2023. The company is a funeral service provider based in…
Funeral Home acquisitions: Why not royalties as part of the consideration?
The negotiations to sell and or purchase a funeral home generally involve “what one is buying and how are they paying for it”. It’s pretty common to hear the terms “asset sale”, “real estate”,…
Outside the Box: 4 Things I think will eventually come to Death Care
Over my lifetime some things have just stuck with me. A couple of those things are quotes that share a message of complicated projects or ideas that might seem insurmountable but also give…
REGULATIONS
Consumer group calls for “cutting out the funeral director as middleman” on direct cremations
We noticed in this article last week that a consumer group has asked for the removal of funeral directors as “the middleman in cremations, saying it’s costing people money”. Among other things, the…
A 4th possible death care evolution: More government payments
When I look at the long-term trends of democratic countries — countries that I define by having free and fair elections for leaders — I see historical movement towards more “socially economic” values. For…
A four-day work week for funeral service professionals?
If you have been involved in leadership for any length of time you will find that any decision that you make, even if you think it is the greatest decision in the…
CEMETERY
Memorial Day 2025 — May God Bless their memories
I bring you this Memorial Day thought and tell you that it is a slight reprise from an Easter message of thanks that Funeral Director Daily produced during the days of the pandemic lock…
What’s one to do?
Recently a lawsuit was filed in New Jersey contending a New Jersey township used discrimination in deciding against a Jewish group that planned to establish a Jewish cemetery in the community. You can read…
Are Reinforced Soil Systems the future for cemetery safety and profits?
Geogrid Reinforced Soil Systems (RSS) have long been used by engineers to provide for stability for retaining walls and highway roadways in North America. Now there is a company that has turned that…
CREMATION
Consumer group calls for “cutting out the funeral director as middleman” on direct cremations
We noticed in this article last week that a consumer group has asked for the removal of funeral directors as “the middleman in cremations, saying it’s costing people money”. Among other things, the…
CANA says “rate of cremation increase” is decelerating
The percentage rate of cremation disposition for all deaths in the United States continues to rise, but the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) says in a recent press release that that rate is…
“Death should be inconvenient”
I have a retired Lutheran clergy friend who, when we were both working, was not hesitant to tell families that “Death should be inconvenient”. That sentence usually came during an arrangement conference when families…
PRENEED
OneRoom brings Revenue Generation to your streaming
We recently received a press release from OneRoom, a trusted leader in funeral streaming. The press release made known that the company has launched its new “Rev Gen Bundle” – defined as a…
“Death should be inconvenient”
I have a retired Lutheran clergy friend who, when we were both working, was not hesitant to tell families that “Death should be inconvenient”. That sentence usually came during an arrangement conference when families…
Raising the retirement age. . . Does it affect Preneed??
Last week the country of Denmark once again set in place an increased age for receiving government sponsored retirement benefits. As you can see in this article those citizens of Denmark born after 1970…
PRODUCTS
OneRoom brings Revenue Generation to your streaming
We recently received a press release from OneRoom, a trusted leader in funeral streaming. The press release made known that the company has launched its new “Rev Gen Bundle” – defined as a…
Who might be our future competition?
Smart companies look for “Line Extention” to help them grow. I learned a little about “Line Extension” in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when I served on a Board of Wells Fargo. …
It’s “What you Know”
There’s always been an argument about successful businesses. . . Did they get to be successful because of “Who they know” or “What they know”? I’m guessing that both circumstances will help, but in today’s…
