Money: Getting it and Keeping it
How I learned How to Understand and Love My Financials
Funeral Home Owners struggle with financial information. It is very difficult for people who are not financially oriented to understand tabular data. Thanks to artificial intelligence and new software there is now a way for them to connect the dots at a glance and know what to do. Join me at the Kates Boylston Webinar […]
Finish Well
Posted on March 25, 2023 By Thomas A. Parmalee Forty-three years ago, Alan Creedy took over the financially distressed OGR Service Corp., the for-profit arm of what is now the International Order of the Golden Rule. With a background in accounting and psychology, he had no idea he was about to start his life’s work, […]
How To Know When You are Ready To Exit Your Business
How To Know When You are Ready To Exit Your Business The answer to this challenge is both situational and personal. Whether you plan on leaving the business altogether or you want to work as long as you are able, most people agree that achieving financial independence should be a primary goal. You may want […]
Why I Am Not A Funeral Home Broker
Why I Am Not A Funeral Home Broker Jack B. Stalk has a special goose. His goose lays a single golden egg every year. That annual egg has enabled Jack to live in a nice home, drive a luxury car, take nice vacations, eat well, put his four kids through college and be a well-respected […]
New & Improved Funeral Home Valuator
I have chosen to celebrate the re launch of my new website with an updated and improved funeral home valuation calculator. This calculator is part of my effort to help practitioners access quick and easy tools that will help them make better choices for their business. You can use these calculators any time and as […]
Part 3: The Owner Is Ready
Maybe you are anxious to exit your business. Or perhaps you dread the day you will no longer be involved. Either way for a successful business transfer you need to be ready. It has been my experience that when people think they are ready and even eager to exit the business they have only given […]
Part 2: The Business Is Ready
I have lived in my house for 30+ years and we are getting ready to sell and move closer to my daughter and her family. I have two goals: Sell for top dollar Sell quickly So we are getting it ready by repainting it and updating a few odds and ends. Not more than we […]
Universal Requirements For Successful Family Transition
There are 3 Universal requirements for a successful family business transfer: A competent successor The Business is ready The owner is ready Part 1 – A Competent Successor A successor is competent when they have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to run the business. For most small businesses however this is a major challenge. Yes […]
Thumbnail: What’s It Worth?
A lot of my readers are curious about what their business is worth but aren’t yet ready for a full valuation. They just want an idea. Well, as you can imagine that gets kind of messy. There are a lot of moving parts in a valuation; but if you just want an educated guess click […]
Casket Merchandising and The Hawthorne Effect
The Hawthorne effect occurs when individuals modify or improve an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed. The concept is more simple than it sounds. People change their behavior when they are being observed. Where this applies to casket merchandising is subtle but important. The profession has come to rely on a […]
Check Their Math! How The Herd Instinct Works In Funeral Service
WARNING! This is not about caskets! A couple of decades ago I was visiting with 3 funeral home owner friends. They were discussing among themselves that the expensive makeovers of their selection rooms, popular at the time, were not working as advertised. Having heard nothing but glorious praise about these “retail” style showrooms I was […]
Lest You Misunderstand
Last week’s post was about casket discounting. I just want to make myself clear. I still meet people who believe their salvation is in the selection room. They even have incorporated their arrangement rooms inside their showrooms. (What kind of message does that send??) What I want my readers to know is that I resent […]