Ask the Owner

Written by Diann Anderson, formerly of Anderson Funeral & Cremation Services Why Momentum Matters: Transforming Your Funeral Home from Stagnation to Success and Making a Lasting Impact As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, and the best way to illustrate a point is by telling a story.  I would like to tell you the story of two different funeral home businesses.  I cannot think of a more engaging way to stress the importance of your business having momentum than painting the picture representing the difference between two different business models – one that has it and pursues keeping it and one that doesn’t care.  In this article I am going to tell you exactly why your business must have momentum for you to realize success. I am opening up my vault of experience and will be sharing […]

How Seeing My Dad in His Casket Helped Me Mourn His Death Written by Diann Anderson, formerly of Anderson Funeral & Cremation Services We are continuing in our series of articles “Strategic Evolution Blueprint for Funeral Home Owners”.  In previous articles I wrote about the importance of embracing change and having a “Strategic Evolution” blueprint for your funeral business.  I have also covered topics like rethinking consumer needs in the funeral profession, the difference between three very different funeral home business models, and why I encourage you to think outside the funeral home box so to speak and start thinking “What’s my Mission?” as it pertains to the operation of your business.  This month, I want to encourage you to reframe your thinking about ceremonies and specifically the importance of having the decedent’s physical body present for the ceremony.  My […]

Are You Part of the Death Care Industry or Are You Part of the Funeral Profession or Are You Playing in the Middle of the Road? In our next installment of Ask the Owners, Diann Anderson, formerly of Anderson Funeral & Cremation Services asks you to consider what category your business model falls into.  She encourages you to pick one lane and get out of the middle: What sets a business apart?  What drives a consumer to choose one business over another business that operates in the same sector?  When it comes to purchasing real estate most everyone agrees that the biggest determination of a property’s value is “Location… Location …Location …”  Of course, there’s many more factors that must go into the decision, but most realtors agree that location is one of the most important aspects of a property.  […]

In our next installment of Ask the Owners, Diann Anderson, formerly of Anderson Funeral & Cremation Services discusses the importance having the right team outside of your internal team to help you be a success: Trust is something that you do every day.  To trust is to have a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. While the concept of trust seems simple on the surface — it’s about believing in someone’s reliability, integrity, and competence — it involves various layers and nuances that make it intricate. One of the greatest challenges Steve and I faced when we started digging into changing the paradigm at our funeral home was “Who can we trust?”  I’m not speaking about which employees are trustworthy.  I’m speaking about the importance of having the right team outside of your […]