January 23, 2023
Published by 
Dan Isard on January 23, 2023
Dan Isard on January 23, 2023…and How to Beat Them at Their Own Game “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana It was in the early 1980s the Federal Trade Commission started to investigate the way funeral homes charged for their services. Back then – more than two generations ago – when a death occurred, the consumer purchased the casket and vault and received all the other services of the funeral home. This included the removal of the body, arrangement planning, preparation of the body, livery of the deceased body and the family as well as the use of the funeral home for a gathering or the funeral home would bring the body to the place of worship for a visitation and/or service. Ultimately, the funeral home brought the casketed body to the cemetery for interment. You got […]
January 23, 2023
Published by 
Curtis Rostad on January 23, 2023
Curtis Rostad on January 23, 2023Have you wondered whether you need to pay employees while they are “on-call” for your funeral or cemetery business? This is a common question we have received when having this type of employee on your staff. Curtis Rostad provides his insights to this important question below. Question: Do I have to pay my employees to be “on call?” Curtis Rostad: In thirty-four states* most employees, including licensed funeral directors, must be paid hourly with overtime for work over 40 hours per week. That makes the “on-call” question especially important. The Wage and Hour Division uses two principles in addressing this issue. The first is “engaged to wait.” The employee is not performing duties, but they are unable to use the time effectively for his or her own purpose. For instance, if they must remain in the building to answer the […]
December 20, 2022
Published by 
Taylor Weber on December 20, 2022
Taylor Weber on December 20, 2022Have you ever wondered why your Gross Profit Margin has such importance when analyzing the strength and performance of your funeral or cemetery business? It is a question that we receive quite often when working with our clients. Our Financial Analyst, Taylor Weber provides informative insights on this important element of your business analysis. Question: Why is Gross Profit Margin important when Foresight performs their Strategic Performance Analysis for my business? Taylor Weber: The Gross Profit Margin is one of the most significant measures for determining your business’s profitability and financial performance. Gross Profit Margin is defined as “a metric that analysts utilize to measure financial health by calculating the amount of money left over from total sales (or revenue) after subtracting the cost of goods sold (COGS) that is sometimes expressed as a percentage of total sales/revenue.” The general […]
December 19, 2022
Published by Dan Isard on December 19, 2022
Dan Isard on December 19, 2022The Hatfields vs. The McCoys; the Cattle Grazers vs. The Sheep Ranchers; David vs. Goliath; North vs. South; Funeral Homes vs. Cemeteries. All of these Polar opposites are competing forces, but none is the equal of the constant battle for dominance or avoidance of fear as the funeral versus cemetery forces. Of the almost 20,000 funeral homes and about 8,000 cemeteries, less than 5% represent a marriage of the Two forces, which we call a “combo.” Over time, the funeral directors were afraid of the cemeteries out competing them, so in some states they passed laws outlawing the combined ownership of funeral homes by cemeteries. In some states, it was never a spoken issue but whispered as a point of concern. In all reality, over my lifetime witnessing the operations of marketing efforts nationwide, the Combo is the high ground […]
December 19, 2022
Published by 
John McQueen on December 19, 2022
John McQueen on December 19, 2022To Avoid Some ‘Ruff’ Times, Follow the 4 Ps of Pet Loss We have all heard of the many inspiring rags to riches stories from Dolly Parton to Halle Berry, Ed Sheeran, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, and so many others. Of course, these are just the high-profile stories of the now rich and famous, but the world has so many others who have achieved great success from less than humble beginnings. But this is a different kind of story. This is a “Wags to Riches” story and it’s just waiting for you to finish writing the ending. However, like rags to riches, the development of a pet cremation and/or pet burial business can see some “ruff” times, especially in the early years. Therefore, to be successful, it is crucial that you follow the “4 Ps” of pet loss: Purpose, Planning, […]
December 19, 2022
Published by 
Gabriel Ngo on December 19, 2022
Gabriel Ngo on December 19, 2022Scenario: Laura Laney is a third-generation owner-operator of Laney Funeral Home & Crematory in mid-Eastern Texas. Her family’s business has seen its share of trials and tribulations but has weathered them all and continues to thrive and grow. Laura’s business is just close enough to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to benefit from the bustling growth yet far enough away to have experienced a comparatively slower rise in cremation rates – which has allowed Laura (and her father, Lynn, before her) to educate the community and families she serves on the value and importance of services and gatherings being no different than burial when families select cremation as an option. Throughout COVID, Laney Funeral Home & Crematory found legal ways around restrictions in order to provide full burial and cremation services to appreciative families as often as they could. Over the […]
December 19, 2022
Published by Dan Isard on December 19, 2022
Dan Isard on December 19, 2022As a new business owner, the first decisions you must make involve taxes. In most cases, however, you will feel so elated during your first days of ownership that you’ll just abdicate those decisions to your accountant and/or lawyer. Then, someday in the future, you will read an article, like this one, and wonder to yourself, “Hmm…” You therefore clip the article and send it to your accountant and/or lawyer. They, in turn, give you a long-winded explanation as to why the author of that article is wrong. Or, worse, they will write to the author and tell him why he is wrong. Please, save your breath and your typing fingers. I am not wrong. Here are the taxation basics you need to know. Decision One: Business Entity There are several ways businesses can be classified for tax purposes. The […]
November 21, 2022
Published by Gabriel Ngo on November 21, 2022
Gabriel Ngo on November 21, 2022Pricing is always a hot topic. When it comes to vendors setting pricing for items such as caskets, do you have to accept their price structure, or can you make changes as you see fit? Gabe Ngo provides his insights on this important topic. Question: Do I have to accept the prices the casket vendor set? Gabe Ngo: The short answer is no, you do not have to accept the casket vendor’s pricing they set. There are so very many angles in answering this question, but I will keep it grounded and simple. Often times historically, owner-operators have not always made pricing changes to reflect the “October 1st” pricing changes that have typically come from Batesville or Matthews annually. However, over the past fifteen to eighteen months or so, funeral home owner-operators have seen a variety of “temporary surcharges” (which […]
November 21, 2022
Published by 
Jared Tanke on November 21, 2022
Jared Tanke on November 21, 2022Have you ever wondered what to do if your property/real estate value is worth more than the actual value of your business? This is actually a common occurrence and a question we are often asked to provide guidance on. Our Senior M&A Analyst, Jared Tanke is back to provide informative insights and various scenarios. Question: What should I do if my property/real estate is worth more than the value of my business? Jared Tanke: I have heard this question much more frequently over the past few years as property values have appreciated at an exponential rate, and it’s a fair question. In last month’s Ask the Analyst, Jarod Bernat answered the question about the difference between valuing real estate as “highest and best use” and “Special-use” which goes hand in hand with this month’s question. There are a few different […]
November 21, 2022
Published by 
Chris Cruger on November 21, 2022
Chris Cruger on November 21, 2022It is absolutely essential for those looking to thrive in the profession today. It’s that time of year again – time to close out the old one strong and get the bricks in place for a solid 2023. We’ll talk about the planning process and 10 simple steps to get you on your way, but first, there are some areas requiring a little extra-special attention in 2022, areas of critical importance be-cause the profession is not keeping pace with the world around it. From 2017-21, the average price of a funeral has increased 6.6%, while the CPI (Consumer Price Index) increased more than 16%. This scenario is not sustainable. There are forces in play today that require you to be at the top of your game. Rising costs, the cremation rate and rapidly changing consumer attitudes require a well-thought-out plan. […]
November 21, 2022
Published by Dan Isard on November 21, 2022
Dan Isard on November 21, 2022Recently, a new cemetery client asked me to help repurpose a Master Plan. For those of you who are not regular readers, a Master Plan is the long-term plan for your undeveloped areas and maybe any developed areas that have not been sold or interred into yet. Good consultants usually answer a question with a question. My reply was, “If you had a restaurant, would you only have a few items on the menu, or would you try and provide variety?” Most cemeterians are limited in their mindset. Natural Burial is a viable and profitable option that may work. What Is Natural Burial? Well, it is basically a Kosher burial option, where the body is not embalmed with caustic materials. But that is the very limited interpretation. This can be conjugated to include a container holding the body that must […]
November 21, 2022
Published by Dan Isard on November 21, 2022
Dan Isard on November 21, 2022I entered this business when your grandparents were running it. Back then, it was easy to market a funeral home: go to Rotary meetings (or other social organizations) weekly, attend church services each weekend, park your cars in the parking lot each day after washing them, and wait for the phone to ring. Ah, the good old days. There was really very little to call acrimonious about your marketing efforts then (other than that stupid competitor down the road) because the issues that mattered to families were their religion, where their family was buried and which firm had served them in the past. I remember a study we conducted on funeral market share in the late 1980s. We found that a town’s “churched percentage” was the same as the number of people who knew which funeral home they would use. […]