If you own, operate, or manage a funeral home or cemetery you get lots of advice — including from Funeral Director Daily at times.  However, I’ve also learned over 40+ years of business ownership in various enterprises, that while it it good to consider all the advice you get, it is most of the time best to “trust your own instincts on business decisions”.

With most family funeral homes and cemeteries the owners “live” the business.  Even when they are at home or somewhere else, “the business” is usually top of mind.  Because of that situation, nobody should know your business better than you. . . . . and when it comes to “big decisions” nobody should be more trusted to make them than you.

I thought of that the other day while I was running on the treadmill and watching a business channel on the TV.  This information about Ford Motor Company came across the screen.  The information was that Ford was “retreating from the EV (electrical vehicle) market and taking a write-down of $19.5 billion including an $8.5 billion charge for cancelled EV models.”

This quote came from the article, “Ford said it will pivot hard into gas and hybrid models, and eventually hire thousands of workers, even though there will be some layoffs at a jointly owned Kentucky battery plant in the near term. The company expects its global mix of hybrids, extended-range EVs and pure EVs to reach 50% by 2030, from 17% today.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I thought of the “instinct and decision” issue while on the treadmill because I wondered how much Ford was influenced by the “Green movement” of one presidential administration to get so heavy on the way to building EV cars and trucks.  And, on the “Fossil fuel movement” of another presidential adminsitration to now get out of it — or at least tone down the movement.

It reminded me of when I operated our funeral home and had all kinds of advice from client families, clergy, business friends, and many other people who meant very well. . . . . . However, as helpful as they wanted to be, they didn’t understand the Death Care business.  I’m guessing that if I had acted on much of the advice they gave, I would have had to pivot from those decisions as well.

So, listen to advice — that is only being respectful, but make sure that you make decisions firmly on the data you have in place and on your own instincts.

It’s very difficult to compare Ford Motor Company to our funeral businesses, but I question how much Ford listened to the correct data and consumers and followed their instincts or if they simply got caught up in a  “following the herd” mentality when the herd was going in the wrong direction.

More news from the world of Death Care: 

Enter your e-mail below to join the 3,201 others who receive Funeral Director Daily articles daily

“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Next week is Chrsitmas. . . . . And, almost everybody has their own traditions on how they spend time with their family or their community.

But what about your funeral home?  What are the traditions that they follow?  Having looked-forward to annual traditions is not only a way to celebrate with your community. . . .it is a way that your business can be looked on as a leader in that community.

Last week I noticed an article from our good friends, and Funeral Director Daily sponsors, ASD (Answering Service for Directors) that put a spotlight on 20 real-life “Heartwarming Funeral Home Holiday Traditions” that happen across the United States.

And, instead of me trying to explain them to you, I present them here, as explained by ASD for your own perusal.  Maybe one of these, or something like it, will find its way into your company traditions in the future.

About ASD —

Answering Service for Directors (ASD) is the leading funeral home answering service and communication technology provider throughout the United States and Canada. They have been family-owned since 1972 and exclusive to the funeral profession since the mid-90s. Their Call Specialists provide consistent, compassionate service sensitive to the needs of funeral directors. Specialized training emphasizing patience, empathy, and accuracy prepares our Call Specialists to consistently provide elite service when answering life’s most difficult calls.

More than a third of all funeral homes in the United States use their services because they fine-tune them to individual requests more than any other answering service provider. ASD strives to make communication easier for funeral directors so they can enjoy an improved work-life balance. They provide cutting-edge, award-winning solutions for mobile communication and powerful, time-saving integrations with the leading funeral home software and website companies. Their ASD Mobile app and MyASD website provide transparent visibility for all our clients. Whatever the funeral home communication needs, ASD has a proven solution for any budget.

You can learn more about them here.

About Funeral Director Daily sponsors–

Funeral Director Daily sponsors, such as ASD, provide a financial committment that allows Funeral Director Daily to operate as a free source of Death Care related news and information.  I could not bring you this medium without them.

I know that you have choices when selecting vendors in the Death Care realm.  . . .However, please thank them for their generosity and give those sponsors of Funeral Director Daily a chance to be a provider for you when looking at potential vendor partners in your business transactions.

Thank you. . . .and have a very joyous Holiday Season!!!

More news from the world of Death Care:

Enter your e-mail below to join the 3,124 others who receive Funeral Director Daily articles daily:

“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

South Carolina Gets Tough on Deathcare; Should Other States Follow Suit?

Unlike most other industries, deathcare doesn’t like the spotlight. Why? Because it seems the press hardly ever presents a friendly focus on all the good to be found within the profession. The bad apples who pop up in the headlines every few years are often so horrible that they spoil the whole bunch. Not only do these evildoers put the profession on the defensive and resurrect long-dead-and-buried Jessica Mitford-inspired consumer concerns; they also seem to put governments in the awkward, yet urgent, position of putting laws into place to prevent these events from happening again.

On July 3, 2024, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed House Bill 4116 into law, updating, changing, or introducing regulations throughout virtually every aspect of deathcare, from preneed to cremation to general funeral home operations. Although the South Carolina Board of Funeral Service graciously summarized 13 of the most impactful changes, they also noted that this was not an exhaustive list; House Bill 4116 packed quite an expansive punch.

Why now?

South Carolina isn’t the first state to address deathcare rules in 2024, with many following the lead of Colorado. Certainly, no one — deathcare pros and consumers alike —  could fault Colorado legislators for reinstating licensing requirements after the recent, tragic events at Return to Nature and Sunset Mesa. The state’s distinction as the only no-license-no-problem oasis for the funeral profession was called into question, scrutinized, and ultimately blamed for the atrocities that occurred there — especially when it was widely publicized that Return to Nature co-owner Jon Hallford was not a licensed funeral director. Colorado quickly responded to the criticism, ultimately and efficiently rolling out a new set of laws in May 2024.

But would a license have prevented Hallford and his wife/business partner from committing their horrific crimes? In reality, there’s little proven correlation to deathcare transgressions and state licensing requirements — or funeral-related laws in general. Many, many states with a slew of strict regulations have weathered their own share of scandals; unfortunately, for some people rules and laws are simply inconsequential in their decision-making processes.

However, as Funeral Director Daily’s Tom Anderson recently shared, the recent spate of unethical actions at home and abroad are certainly “leading government authorities almost everywhere to take a hard look at their rules and laws of conduct in the profession.”

A mix of impacts

The state of South Carolina seemed to have been ahead of the game, though, as they introduced the initial draft of House Bill 4116 back in March 2023, post-Sunset Mesa but well before news of Return to Nature hit the headlines. When first introduced, the proposed law included both consumer- and profession-friendly changes, such as barring convicted felons from selling preneed insurance and requiring that cremations be performed only by employees trained to perform them.

The final version of the bill, though, included many more provisions and requirements that amended the state’s Funeral Practice Act, Safe Cremation Act, and Consumer Affairs Preneed Funeral Contract regulations, including:

• Changed definition of “cremation” to include alkaline hydrolysis;
• Removed requirement to keep at least six adult caskets in an onsite room;
• Prohibited the issuance of an operating permit if a funeral home name includes the name of a person without a license;
• Prohibited unlicensed persons to work in a licensed business;
• Prohibited embalmers or directors to practice if they’ve been convicted of or pled guilty to a crime that impacts performance of deathcare duties;
• Updated continuing education hours from three to four per year, with one hour being an ethics course; 
• Increased fines for violating the Safe Cremation Act from $5,000 to $25,000;
• Increased penalties for violating preneed laws;
• Allowed managers to live up to 75 miles from a funeral home (up from 25 miles previously); and 
• Required crematory operators to register with the Board.

Changes like the addition of alkaline hydrolysis and elimination of managers’ residency requirements may open up opportunities for South Carolina’s deathcare professionals and will most likely be eagerly embraced. However, the majority of these provisions are preventive and/or punitive in nature, put in place to both head off problematic behavior within the profession and to reassure consumers that the folks who are caring for their loved ones are qualified and licensed. Regardless, it’s a lot for these professionals to digest all at once, especially as the law immediately went into effect the day it was signed.

The state of other states

Colorado and South Carolina aren’t the only states that have updated their deathcare laws or have proposed related legislation this year. Most lawmakers have cited the much-publicized events in Colorado as the impetus for their actions, while some are responding to issues uncovered in their own districts.

For example, Illinois’ Integrity in Death Care Act, which takes effect in January 2025, will require deathcare establishments to establish a chain of custody system to track a deceased person from death to final disposition. The law was prompted after a Carlinville, Illinois funeral home gave at least 80 families the wrong cremains in 2023. At the time, this was not a criminal act in the state; however, the new law makes this act a felony.

Likewise, a new law in Florida that gives the state more authority to investigate questionable funeral homes was prompted by the actions of a Jacksonville funeral director who is facing 20 criminal charges for abandoning bodies in his mortuary and stealing funds from families.

The aftermath

Given the public’s probable perception of deathcare today (thanks to the worst actors), it’s not likely that any state will relax their deathcare rules. If anything, the profession can probably expect more legislators to start scrutinizing their current laws and potentially put new or stricter restrictions in place.

For the most part, these new guidelines should ultimately safeguard the reputation of the profession as a whole and further protect consumers from people like the Hallfords of Return to Nature and Sunset Mesa’s Megan Hess. And while state associations and other deathcare organizations are sure to support the reasoning and motivation behind these moves, they’re also carefully calculating the impact to the profession as a whole. Deathcare workers can expect these entities to work on their behalf to discourage legislation that seriously hinders qualifying, training, or hiring staff; requires massive operational overhauls; or will result in significant expenses that could bankrupt some businesses.

Regardless of the industry, no measure can or will be 100% effective, as Chris Farmer, general counsel for the National Funeral Directors Association, recently shared. 

“Even in the most stringent states, somebody’s going to do something bad,” Farmer said. “You can’t prevent it.”