Articles

Education in 2023

“Education” is our feature for this special issue of Southern Funeral Directors Magazine. The funeral profession already has a shortage of licensed funeral directors and embalmers and the much disc...
By John Yopp
In Articles
Tuesday, February 28, 2023

The Basics of Personnel Records

Most funeral home owners know that they should have a personnel file for each of their employees, but fewer know exactly what should be in those files and fewer still understand that they should be...
By Curtis D. Rostad, CFSP
In Articles
Thursday, January 26, 2023

When Did Burial Vaults First Start Being Used? The History of Burial Vaults

On the surface, the question “When did burial vaults first start being used?” seems pretty cut-and-dried. Based on the definition that a burial vault is a container that encloses a casket to help p...
By Jill Darby
In Articles
Thursday, January 26, 2023

Six Reasons that Loans Get Declined

Declining loans is the worst part of my job. I sometimes come across funeral directors who take new jobs, move their families, or even sign agreements to purchase a funeral business assuming that t...
By Jody Myers
In Articles
Thursday, January 26, 2023

RECAPPING THE PROFESSIONAL CAR SOCIETY’S 2022 INTERNATIONAL MEET

Given its origins and long-standing significance as a Native American and Colonial era crossroads still frequented today by motorists plying the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 84 and historic U...
By story, “deep” captions by GREGG D. MERKSAMER
In Articles
Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Watch Your Language!

Funeral service is not alone in seeing changes to the terminology we use every day. Just like airline stewardesses have become “flight attendants,” secretaries have become “administrative assistant...
By By Curtis D. Rostad, CFSP
In Articles
Tuesday, November 22, 2022

High-Impact Ways to Connect with Your Community

How do you set your funeral home apart and build strong connections with potential and current client families? The secret is a carefully planned series of community engagement and outreach efforts...
By By Aemelia Tripp
In Articles
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
< Previous Next >

Previous Posts

Why Specialized Transportation Providers Are Essential for Shipping Human Remains

Shipping human remains is one of the most emotionally and logistically complex services in the funeral industry. While families and funeral homes technically have the option to arrange transportati...

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 ...

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...

Ditching the Doom and Gloom

The funeral industry is undergoing a profound transformation. For generations, funeral homes have relied on traditional marketing approaches, often steeped in somber imagery and a focus on the inev...

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 ...