November 23, 2020
Published by 
Dan Isard on November 23, 2020
Dan Isard on November 23, 2020The top five uninformed mistakes people make when buying or selling a funeral home. First, dear reader, understand that our relationship involves mutual responsibilities. As the author, I write. As the reader, you, er… well, you read. I promise never to lie to you in my monthly columns. You promise never to plagiarize my articles. Given our sacred relationship, I must therefore make sure you understand this month’s subtitle: “The top five uninformed mistakes…” Note it does not say, “The five uninformed mistakes,” but instead, “The top five uninformed mistakes.” In 35 years, I’ve simply seen too many mistakes to list them all in a 1,500-word article. Maybe, after I retire, I will write another book about all the errors people make. Secondly, dear reader, understand that these errors are not limited to buyers or to sellers but to both […]
October 25, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on October 25, 2020
Dan Isard on October 25, 2020In our third Industry Spotlight, we want to highlight on hospice. Two professions which are most symbiotic are hospice nursing and funeral homes. Hospice care focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient’s pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering. Funeral directing focuses upon the emotional trauma of the survivors, who are now living without the deceased friend or family member. The funeral is the first step to deal with the rational biological needs as well as the spiritual support the survivors need. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in 2017, 49 million Medicare beneficiaries, a 4.5 percent increase from the prior year, were enrolled in hospice care for one day or more […]
October 25, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on October 25, 2020
Dan Isard on October 25, 2020Neither a borrower nor a lender be. – Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3 I quoted Lord Polonius from Shakespeare’s famous play because I needed someone expressing the wrong opinion on the merits of borrowing. Sure, I could have quoted any of 200 different radio talk show hosts, but then I might appear narrow-minded or opinionated. I also could have quoted several funeral home owners, but then they might feel offended. Anyway, in this 10th installment of our 12-part 20/20 vision of rebuilding your funeral business, I will explain borrowing, give examples of when and when not to borrow and note from whom you should and should not borrow. And, of course, I will do all of this without using mathematics or being opinionated… BORROWING DURING A PANDEMIC There is only one certainty during a pandemic to a business owner: You […]
September 23, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on September 23, 2020
Dan Isard on September 23, 2020In our second Industry Spotlight, we want to highlight the Pet Business. Why would someone want to take their education from mortuary school and their investment in a funeral business and go into the pet funeral/cremation business? Well, for many in urban and suburban communities, it is a great adjunct to your human funeral business. Did you know: 85 million families (that is about two out of every three families in the US own a pet) 63 million families own at least one dog 65% of all pet owners are either Gen X or Older The average lifespan of a dog or cat is seven years or less Pet ownership in the US during the pandemic is rising across all age groups 95% of pet owners think of them as family members 45% of American pet owners buy their pet’s […]
September 21, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on September 21, 2020
Dan Isard on September 21, 2020Before I comment on the top slides in the survey I think every funeral director should be focused on, allow me to say that I love the fact that this survey is intentionally trying to be more inclusive. One key point I must assert first is brought about by these changes in survey demographics. The 2020 survey takes into consideration people of wider race and age than ever before. It’s weighting younger this year, with 62.1% of respondents between ages 40 and 54 (compared to 36.1% in 2019 and 23.7% in 2018). The survey is also weighting more diverse. A higher percentage of respondents identified themselves as Hispanic (15.5%, compared to 11.1% in 2019), and fewer identified themselves as white (52.4%, compared to 57.9% in 2019). I also believe that leading to a shift in perceived results is the higher […]
September 21, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on September 21, 2020
Dan Isard on September 21, 2020Four objectives to increase receivables collection and cut down on bad debt. To explore the concept of collecting receivables, I first want to share with you the day I met with the funeral director who handled my father’s funeral. I had been in this profession as a consultant for about a decade, and to prepare for the aging of my parents, I set up a joint checking account with my folks. When my dad, Max, died, I went to the funeral director with my father’s checkbook in hand to make his final arrangements. I picked out the casket and arranged the other service details. (The cemetery plot had been pre-purchased.) When we were finished, I said to Bennett, the funeral director: “I have Max’s checkbook here. How much do I owe you?” Bennett said, “Dan, we will send you a […]
August 21, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on August 21, 2020
Dan Isard on August 21, 2020In this first industry spotlight, I think it is important to identify the magnitude of the funeral and cemetery businesses in the United States. Many years ago, the brokerage house Goldman Sacks was running a desk that dealt only with the stocks of those owning funeral homes, cemeteries and vendors to this space and they called the space “Deathcare”. Many of us rejected this phrase, but alas, 30 years later it is still being used. I will not but you might see it that way. There are by most estimates about 19,000 total funeral home locations in the United States. This is down from about 21,000 just a decade earlier. Some have merged with others, but most have been sold off for their real estate value. Some were liquidated by big companies and others by mom and pop owners. The […]
August 13, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on August 13, 2020
Dan Isard on August 13, 2020Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on the results of a survey The Foresight Companies commissioned on the effect COVID-19 has had on how consumers think of funeral service. Last month, I began to share my thoughts about the future of funeral service, based on facts collected from a nationwide survey of more than 2,500 consumers. In case you either don’t remember or did not read last month’s article, we surveyed people throughout the United States and asked them to tell us their thoughts on more than 80 points of interest dealing with consumers’ expectations of the funeral and cemetery professions. We asked them to tell us what their thoughts were before COVID-19, during their self-isolation period, and what they perceived would be their expectations post COVID-19. We asked them this on the weekend just […]
August 6, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on August 6, 2020
Dan Isard on August 6, 2020What can you do to raise the revenue on each call you get? In my professional lifetime, I’ve been exposed to many different types of businesses. Some were service, some manufacturing, some retail; I was even professionally acquainted with the casino industry for about three years (remember this, blackjack players, do not split sixes!). Most of my career, though, has focused on funeral service businesses and, comparatively, I can tell you there is no business more difficult to run. Every dynamic of running a funeral business is difficult. Marketing a funeral home is like marketing an intangible service, yet it has a high capital investment and a high fixed cost of operations. It’s more like operating a hospital than any other business. Revenue mix is going through a change in this profession as well. Thirty years ago, merchandise was about […]
July 17, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on July 17, 2020
Dan Isard on July 17, 2020Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a two-part series on the results of a survey The Foresight Companies commissioned on the effect COVID-19 has had on how consumers think of funeral service. On Jan. 1st, we all thought Corona was a beer. Now, it is the virus that has killed so many, sickened so many more and indelibly struck at all aspects of our lives and livelihoods. It is a moment in our history more impactful than the Battle of Concord, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the multiple attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, all rolled up together. Funeral service stood tall during the initial outbreak. Many went into the hot zones to help the living care for their dead. Many worked long days for numerous weeks under conditions that were a risk to their own safety. This […]
July 17, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on July 17, 2020
Dan Isard on July 17, 2020COVID-19 has significantly impacted existing preneed agreements. The editor of The Director, bless his heart, wanted 2020 to be a time of vision and planning, a year during which this magazine might help lay out the future of funeral service. Given that we’re neck deep in a pandemic, this year’s goal must be scrapped because of COVID-19 – and because Henny Penny has risen. In case you’re not familiar with her, Henny Penny is a chicken featured in a European folktale who believes the world is coming to an end and runs around saying, “The sky is falling!” (In the United States, you might know this story as Chicken Little.) Feeling a bit like Henny Penny as I write this, I’m slightly uncertain that I will live to see it published; people go from being alive and feeling fine to […]
July 16, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on July 16, 2020
Dan Isard on July 16, 2020Some big decisions must be made on these major capital assets. To remind you, the goal of this year’s series of columns is to give you a new vision on every aspect of the management of your business. This month, I want to address the major capital assets – building and vehicles – used in the business. So, in light of our new forward thinking, allow me to pose four questions. Simply answer them in your mind as I’m working with a new AI software to tally these results. (After all, the financial decisions of many owners managing their businesses are made on artificial intelligence, aren’t they? I’m just on the cutting edge.) After answering the questions, you might either write the rest of this column for me or feel like you’ve read it without actually reading it. Here we […]