Articles

Reflections on My First Ten Years with CANA

Ten years and four months ago I decided the next step in my career was to become an executive director. I started looking at job postings and stumbled across one for the Cremation Association of No...
By Barbara Kemmis
Tuesday, August 2, 2022

SFD’s “Q&A” for the Annual “M&A” Issue with Jake Johnson, Johnson Consulting Group

Is the COVID-19 pandemic still having an effect on succession planning? Things have slowed down for funeral home businesses. We’ve seen stalled succession planning because people were busy with al...
By Jake Johnson, Johnson Consulting Group
Wednesday, June 22, 2022

When to Sell Your Funeral Home

As a leading funeral home succession planner, NewBridge Group often gets asked, “is now a good time to sell?” Of course, it is tempting to always say yes. The truth is, however, that only an owner ...
By Tony Kumming, NewBridge Group President
Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Retirement? Next Exit

“Alan, I love what I do but I am 60 and I need to be thinking about retirement. What are my options?” Translation: “It’s not fun anymore or you have started dreaming about beaches and travel or si...
By Alan Creedy
Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Single-Pay Preneed: Are You Leaving Money on the Table?

It is no longer a question of if inflation will continue to increase this year, but how much, which means funeral businesses will need to aggressively manage expenses while simultaneously looking f...
By Paul White
Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Tough Decisions to Make When Managing Your Business

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines Management as “the act or skill of controlling and making decisions about a business.” It even goes further to include a reference to management as an art. As s...
By Beth Kmiec
Tuesday, May 17, 2022

The Cost of Waiting - How to Avoid Losing Funerals to Direct Disposition

You’ve probably had them in your funeral home. Families who are grieving the loss of a loved one and don’t already have a plan in place. You notice how they react when you use the word funeral, and...
By Tyler Anderson
Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Previous Posts

A Trusted Journey: Transporting Loved Ones Home

For over four decades, Inman Shipping Worldwide has set the standard for transporting cremated remains home for ceremonies. The core of our business is helping families bring their loved ones home ...

THE NUMBERS ARE IN: DIGITAL MERCHANDISING WORKS!

Of course, many of you reading this have known it for years. But for funeral directors who have been skeptical of utilizing technology displays to showcase caskets, we can share the results with yo...

How to MITIGATE RISKS When Choosing A FUNERAL HOME BUYER

2025 is shaping up to be an active year for funeral home transactions. The NewBridge Group has been advising family owned, private funeral home owners on their succession plans for over twenty five...

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SALE-LEASEBACKS FOR FUNERAL HOME OWNERS

A sale-leaseback enables a company to sell its real estate to raise capital and subsequently lease the property back from the purchaser. In this way, a company can get both the cash and use of the ...

Business Decisions for Your Funeral Home

Independent firms are increasingly approached by consolidators (big and small), what are the top 3 considerations when contemplating the sale of a generational, family owned firm? A. Don’t go at it...

Goal Setting and Digital Marketing

When I wrote my book, “The Consumer’s Journey to Purchasing Funeral Services,” I have to admit I had to research a simple question: “What is the difference between ‘marketing’ and ‘advertising’? I ...

Bridging the Gap

There is nothing quite like human connection. When we meet and speak with someone face to face, we develop meaningful bonds. In the funeral profession, these moments are crucial for demonstrating a...