Thought Leadership

Dear Dan, I took over my father’s business four years ago, and every day I am more and more aware of how unlike my father I am. One such revelation provoked me to write to you. I remember as a teen being with my father at conventions. In the evenings, his buddies – competitors, colleagues from around the state and, of course, casket salesmen – would meet for cocktails. During the evening after the casket salesman who had bought dinner had left, the game of liar’s poker began. First, one guy bragged about how many bronze caskets he sold last year. Soon the gang would explore another fabrication, stating how low their cremation rate was. Finally, the lies reached their climactic ending with what I call the “straight flush of lies” – they bragged about what a great discount they […]

After much time and effort, you’ve added a new employee. Awesome! Now what? 10 simple steps to creating an in-house training program. Getting a new employee through the front door is just the first step in your journey of creating a quality employee. The next step, training, is thought to be the most important in the employment process. Effective training maximizes the value a new employee adds to your business and establishes the necessary foundation for a long-term, positive employment relationship. Job satisfaction is one of the key factors that leads to an employee’s choice to remain with an employer, and creating a basic training program can reap significant benefits in terms of employee retention and job satisfaction. Unfortunately, many funeral home owners are overwhelmed by the thought of training a new employee, let alone developing a formal training process. […]

A cemetery is a special place, not only to families but also to accountants. It’s not a typical business, and decisions about how to record the business of a cemetery need to be made with an eye to consistency.  Read Dan’s latest CI column in the May issue of the ICCFA Magazine or click here. CI May 2016

Every business will be sold. The only question is will the business owner be alive to enjoy the fruits of the years of labor. Business succession is the most important decision you can make. If you elect to do this carelessly, your chance of doing it correctly is slim. My very first speech at a National Funeral Directors Association convention was titled, “Do You Need to Sell Your Home in Order to Get Your House in Order?” The question posed addressed whether or not you will have enough money when you want to retire and what role your business will play in that life event. In my 40 years of working with business owners, predominantly funeral and cemetery businesses, I have perfected a system that works. It is an integrated approach. You can try to do it yourself or find […]

About 50 percent of all bodies today are not embalmed due to the public not seeing the economics of the funeral service. That is your fault, not mine. Finance 101 April 2016