What to Consider When Buying a Funeral Home: A 3-Part Series
By Melissa Drake-Messina, President | American Funeral Consultants
In Collaboration with The New York State Funeral Directors Association
If buying a funeral business is in your future – you must tune-in to the upcoming series that the NYSFDA has lined up for you. In the months to come, we will share a three-part series that will delve into some important things to consider during the buying process. The information presented will define the necessary work to be done to make the purchase successful. There will be plenty of items to add to your “to-do” list, short-term goals to attain prior to the purchase, and long-term goals to set along the way.
Building from the basics up, we will start with your state of mind and challenge you to get prepared to do what it takes to make the venture work. This mini-series will help you become an informed buyer. One that won’t be surprised at all of the potential obstacles that are likely to crop up along the way.
Immediately after a purchase there will be a multitude of things you “must-do” in the first year. The second part of the mini-series will discuss and help you figure out how to spend your time and energy for the maximum results. It will touch on the necessary skill sets you and your staff should strive to have. As the new owner, how can you demonstrate good leadership skills within the company while ensuring continuity within the market area? Can you balance growth with sustaining the legacy built by those who came before you? Can you identify the strengths of the business? What are its weaknesses? Can you find ways to turn those into opportunities for improvement? Perhaps there are challenges with existing staff or old owners. In order to adequately deal with those and myriad other issues, you must be a good communicator and be ready, willing, and able to jump in and get to work.
Once you have gotten your feet wet in that first year, it will be time to settle-in for the long-haul. This final article in the mini-series will provide some tangible ways to ensure the long-term stability and growth of the business. It will discuss many topics including supporting and enriching your staff, creating a budget, understanding cash flow, creating meaningful and value-added services for your families, and it will provide measurable ways to assess your successes.
The ultimate goal of the information presented will be aimed at making you a better buyer and preserving the legacy of the firm that has been acquired while bringing growth to the operation in a variety of ways. This material will set you on a path to ensure your success before, during, and after the purchase.