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In the unlikely event that you don’t make it to work tomorrow, do your co-owners and key employees know what to do to keep things running smoothly in your absence? If you are the type of business owner who is very hands-on and who does it all, consider the following...

The single largest cost of running a funeral home comprises salaries, benefits and employment taxes. Together, they make up employee compensation. In the 1980s, when some casket companies spent $250,000 on their NFDA booth build-out and another million dollars on an...

I got my start in the financial services world by selling life insurance across the kitchen table to young families. Once, as I met with a 20-something couple, the husband told me it was ironic we were meeting because they had just found out the day before that his...

It's officially budget seasonWhat do you really need in your budget for 2023? We put together a list of funeral home essentials to get you started.1. Plan ahead for conventionsThere are 2 things to think about when planning for your trips: which conventions to attend...

As I attempt to transfer the knowledge I’ve learned over five decades in funeral service, I find I must ask questions as often as I answer them. Read Full Article

In last month’s column, I outlined the questions you must address for preneed to serve as a positive part of your business and planning. As noted at the end of that article, I intend to answer those many questions in this month’s article, so please, read on. Read Full...

The first large-scale speech I gave at an NFDA convention was in Orlando in the 1980s. In the room next to me was an industry “expert” whose presentation denounced the use of funeral directors as salespeople and asserted that preneed was an inferior way of promoting...

Planning for the future is a critical task that all companies have to engage with, regardless of how new or old your company is.This series from Dan Isard at The Foresight Companies looks at practical steps and knowledge to help keep the ship stable long into the...

By Welton Hong Twitter recently mined its data, analyzing billions of tweets for the past two years, to discover what's on top when it comes to trends. In its Twitter Trends Report 2022, the social media platform revealed three important considerations for marketers:...

Read the next installment in our tactical series looking at how your funeral home can set up a comprehensive digital marketing plan.Content shared with permission from Funeral Directors Life. 05-VideoDownload

Read the next installment in our tactical series looking at how your funeral home can set up a comprehensive digital marketing plan.Content shared with permission from Funeral Directors Life. 04-Facebook-AdsDownload

Read the next installment in our tactical series looking at how your funeral home can set up a comprehensive digital marketing plan.Content shared with permission from Funeral Directors Life. 03-Google-AdsDownload

Read the next installment in our tactical series looking at how your funeral home can set up a comprehensive digital marketing plan.Content shared with permission from Funeral Directors Life. 02-WebsiteDownload

Marketing in this day and age can be a mystery. Old tried and true solutions like the newspaper, the yellow pages, and the radio are losing prominence. In their place we have Facebook, Google Ads, and YouTube. If you are like most funeral directors, you are worried...

This article was originally published in ICCFA’s Memento Mori magazine and is reprinted here with permission. Welton Hong is the founder of Ring Ring Marketing and the author of Making Your Phone Ring with Internet Marketing for Funeral Homes. Learning the Ins and...

We are often asked about how long specific records should be kept. Discarding records that should be kept poses a wide range of potential tax and legal problems. Keeping reports too long wastes precious space and resources. But how long should the company’s files be...

By Tim Collison, CFSPCopyright: The Dodge CompanyReprinted with permission from the Dodge Magazine One of the basic truths of human existence is that we are all creatures of habit. We develop patterns in almost everything we do, and the longer we continue these...

By Dan Isard The Foresight CompaniesEarlier this year, I turned 68 years old. I mention this because I feel I bear a responsibility to this profession, one that has allowed me to build a company and serve more than 3,000 of its members during my career. While I have...

The Arkansas Department for Health has recently issued new training and guidance both for Funeral Directors and for Medical Certifiers, which walks through the entire process step-by-step. The resources are available as videos showing the actual steps on a computer,...

Starting from July 1, 2023 there will be new mileage rates as announced by the IRS.The Internal Revenue Service earlier this month announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rate for the final six months of 2022. Taxpayers may use the optional standard...

Derrick McEachern is a Registered Counselling Therapist and a Canadian Certified Counsellor who has been practicing in Nova Scotia since 2006. He is the founder of Five Star Wellbeing Counselling and Mental Health and is the author of the Wellbeing Assessment. Derrick...

When it comes to cyberattacks, everyone thinks they’re safe. You may think “Why would they want my information?” or “I have nothing to hide.” However, if a cyberattack happens to your funeral home, you’ll realize how detrimental it can be to your business. This guide...

Advice for your funeral home business as we move into the New Year. Read some of the best tips, advice and insights from around the web, to help your firm with all aspects of daily life - from the sublime to the mundane! How SMEs Can Help Employees Save for...

Filing tax returns can be a complex and confusing endeavor, particularly if your funeral home does not have anyone specifically trained in accounting and financial reporting. AFDA has compiled some best practices and tips to help your business stay compliant and...