June 21, 2018
Published by 
Dan Isard on June 21, 2018
Dan Isard on June 21, 2018Dear Dan, I manage a 100-year-old 80-acre cemetery. I employ about 30 people. My father retired about 10 years ago, and I admit I am doing things much the way he did. I also admit that the world is evolving, and I suspect my human resource knowledge is weak. Dad always treated our sales team as advance and outside salespeople, and they are all on commission only. They get a 1099. Our landscapers work for us full time, but he treated them as “contractors” and gave them each a 1099. Our office staff consists of three people, full-time employees we classify as exempt. There are not many times a year when they work overtime—around the holidays and when we have special on-site promotional events. I am a salaried, full-time employee. Our retirement plan covers me and the office staff. With […]
June 13, 2018
Published by Dan Isard on June 13, 2018
Dan Isard on June 13, 2018Almost every article published today has an underlying call for “change” within the funeral profession. In my opinion, the notion of change may not suffice—scorch the earth and start all over again is likely a better solution. The funeral operating model is broken, and it is ludicrous for practitioners to attempt to hold on to the glory days of the past. If you look at the facts, change is so much easier. What hasn’t changed are the simple mathematical equations underpinning our businesses: Revenue – Overhead = Profit GPL + P&L = EBITDA Retail Price – Wholesale Cost of Goods = Profit I want to focus on the last equation for caskets and vaults (aka outer burial containers) sold within our industry. Over a span of a few years, our funeral business has evolved from a local service to one […]
June 12, 2018
Published by 
Stephanie Ramsey on June 12, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on June 12, 2018The newest employee policy being embraced by states, cities and counties is mandatory paid sick leave. In fact, on Friday, February 16th, 2018 Austin became the first city in Texas to require employers pay employees sick leave. The policy goes into effect on October 1, 2018. In less than 8 months, thousands of Austin employers will need to comply with this law. Can this happen in your area? Yes! Employers may want to start considering their current sick leave policies. More importantly, it would be beneficial to get some idea of the impact such a policy can have on your business as well as understanding what a possible mandatory paid sick leave policy enacted at federal, state or local level may require. Currently there are nine states that have mandatory sick leave requirements of employers. These states are Arizona, California, […]
June 5, 2018
Published by 
Steve Zittle on June 5, 2018
Steve Zittle on June 5, 2018One of the characteristics that drew me to funeral service more than 28 years ago was the fact that funeral service professionals had to be proficient in such a wide variety of subjects. Truly, in our business, no two days are alike. Everyone who has taken the National Board Exam, for instance, has studied the complexities of embalming, restorative art, microbiology, pathology, chemistry and anatomy. I’m a product of the “old school,” where the appearance of the body is a big deal, and so I believe that the prep room and our ability to excel there should not be minimized. However, our industry is rapidly changing direction. According to the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards, it is possible to acquire a funeral director-only license in 29 U.S. states, including Washington, D.C., and four Canadian provinces. That means that […]
June 4, 2018
Published by Dan Isard on June 4, 2018
Dan Isard on June 4, 2018Dear OG, I call you OG cause my pops and grandpops have always told me about you. You’ve been around 4ever! You are Old Guard. I am a player in the New Guard! I am also the newbie in the fam biz. I know you might need to go low to get high, but I don’t want to go low when it comes to cremation. My heritage been doing that, thinking it’s all about price. But, you know, I’m the new dog and they don’t listen to me. I want to make peace with my OG, but there won’t be any big bucks for me at the rate they’re going. Help, OG, I need to know what I can do to keep our profit real! Rockin’ Cremation Profits in Princeton Dear Little Digger, As an OG, I can dig […]