11 Best Funeral Business ideas You Can Start Today

Do you want to start a funeral home but you want to go niche and be unique? If YES, here are 11 best funeral related business ideas / opportunities.

Within the past few years, businesses in the funeral industry have tried to be all things to all people. Full service funeral homes have offered funeral services, embalming, cremation, and any other type of service that a client family asks for, and usually they are able to serve that family through their traditional funeral home building.

However, the industry is changing and customers are beginning to ask for a lot more. With death a guaranteed phase in our life at any age, starting a funeral business seems like a profitable venture. Keeping up with all legal requirements together with care and compassion will make sure your business succeeds in this industry.

This industry in the united states functions as independent companies and franchises.  Most people think that the funeral business is for the heartless, but just like any other profitable business known to man; this business can change your financial story when started and run right.

The exact amount required to start a funeral business will depend on what you intend offering – cremation, graveside funerals, online burial and memorial programmes, a website and an itemized price list.

Death has no age barrier and it gives no consideration to income or heights, it doesn’t ask questions of achievements or legacies, but decides to come at its own convenient time. But that doesn’t mean you should take a funeral business less seriously.

Note that having a concrete background data can help you understand the value your funeral business brings to your community. You should also make use of service gaps (things your community wants but doesn’t have available to them right now).

Starting a funeral business is not easy, but if are naturally caring and compassionate, then the funeral business is for you. Statistics has shown that this business will grow quite rapidly as the baby boomers pass through their golden years.

A considerable portion of the population is reaching its 60s and 70s, and a funeral business owner will benefit from this demographic trend. Below are few business ideas you could leverage if you wish to start a funeral related business in the United States.

Best Funeral Business ideas

1. Pet funeral business

Businesses that provide this service give people a place to lay their beloved animals to rest. In this business, you might decide to offer a variety of services to pet owners, including formal burials or cremations. This business is very ideal for individuals who love animals.

It helps them to understand exactly what a grieving individual or family is going through, which is pivotal to attracting new clients.

Another tip to run this business successfully is that you have to be comfortable with the concept of death and feel natural dealing with both the practical and emotional consequences of losing a pet. Your duties may include any of the following:

• Preparing plots
• Communicating with customers
• Maintaining the grounds
• Performing administrative tasks
• Performing formal burials
• Managing the crematorium
• Talking to vets or pet stores
• General advertising/marketing

2. Designing memorial headstones

Most people don’t envisage starting a memorial headstone business to be a very profitable source of income, but this business idea is one of the most successful micro-businesses out there. In fact, the advent of more modern technology has only enhanced this sort of trade; technology like laser and online commerce.

You need to understand that there is no such thing as a commercial production of memorial headstones. Every one and every piece must be custom-made. This is one property of this trade that makes it very valuable and highly in demand.

Even though manufacturing memorial headstones can be profitable on its own, many micro entrepreneurs in this kind of business set-up also create and market granite-based products like cemetery monuments or memorial benches or any other product within that line.

3. Full-service Mortuary

You can also start a mortuary business that provides all of the services a family needs for the funeral of a loved one, and one that concurs with the state laws concerning the operation of the mortuary.

Have it in mind that your mortuary business should arrange to transport the body to the mortuary, prepare the body for burial and coordinate the logistics of memorial services, wakes, funeral and burials. In this business, you act as a point of contact for families and friends and assume responsibility for placing notices in newspapers.

Your mortuary business might perform all of these duties in-house or you might contract out some of the jobs to other businesses.

4. Embalming firm

This business is one business that is recession proof. No matter the type of economic conditions at play, embalmers know that their services will always be needed.

Embalming may not seem like the ideal career choice for some, but a lot of people have found that this line of business provides employment stability, a sense of accomplishment and pride, and lucrative economic benefits that include an average salary of between $15 and $16 per hour.

An embalmer is in charge of preparing a body for viewing and burial. This includes cleaning the body, using preservative fluids, performing any reconstructive or restorative services where necessary, dressing the body, and applying cosmetics.

Preservation may involve either visceral embalming, in which embalming fluid is placed into body cavities, or arterial embalming, in which embalming fluid is pumped through the arteries. The method used is determined largely by the age and condition of the body.

5. Crematorium

Of recent, a lot of people are choosing cremation for themselves or their loved ones. Cremation offers families options on the final resting place and reduces funeral costs considerably.

Note that this business is ideal for a compassionate individual who is comfortable with the disposal of human remains. Also note that as the owner of a crematorium, your day-to-day activities will consist of:

• Scheduling cremation services
• Networking and communicating with funeral homes
• Marketing for your customer base
• Scheduling routine maintenance on building and equipment
• Researching your industry and emerging trends, equipment, and techniques
• Scheduling and training staff
• Handling various administrative duties
• Complying with safety procedures

6. Mortuary Transportation

There are a lot of businesses that function as mortuary transport businesses but also perform crime scene clean up in the United States.

These businesses remove and deliver bodies to the mortuary, as well transports bodies to out-of-state or foreign locations. Also note that a mortuary transport business in this industry can arrange for other services like embalming and caskets, and escort the body to its final destination.

Cremation transportation is another service. A funeral director or mortuary might contact a mortuary transportation business to pick up a body. A family might contact the business to transport a body to the airport for shipment.

7. Burial at Sea Service

There are a lot of people who lose loved ones and are searching for memorable places to bury the deceased or scatter the deceased’s ashes.

For some, there’s no place more appropriate than the sea. Burial at sea service businesses let families and friends say goodbye to deceased loved ones by burying the body or scattering the ashes at sea.

Note that these businesses most times offer both full-body burials and ash scattering services, but most of their business tends to be ash scattering.

With cremation rates above 50 percent and rising, the demand for this type of burial service is expected to increase in the near future.

It is very important to state that this type of business is not a crematorium. Instead, it’s a way for people to scatter the already-cremated remains of their loved ones.

We believe that this business is good for anyone who is empathetic and loves the sea. Empathy is a necessary attribute for anyone working in the funeral industry, and a passion for open water helps business owners connect with their customers.

8. Hospice Business

This business also known as palliative care, provides clients with a safe and caring environment as they prepare to pass on. Terminal patients are kept comfortable, receiving round the clock medical attention. Family members are offered support and education as they prepare for the passing of a loved one.

Have it in mind that this business is best suited for anyone who is passionate about helping others and can offer compassion and understanding to people.

Also note that starting and running a palliative care facility requires a leader who is ready to face the challenges that come with running a multi-faceted facility.

9. Funeral insurance business

Burial insurance is intended to help clients cover the cost of a funeral and burial. Indeed venturing into a business that is recession-resistant might be a great way to have a solid business.

Note that your clients will depend on you for a good plan for burial cost coverage for themselves, their spouses, their children or their parents.

Burial insurance is basically a form of life insurance. Funerals typically cost $6,000 or more, and having a plan in place so that one does not have to worry about the cost when the time comes can help a great deal.

10. Headstone cleaning business

Starting and running a headstone cleaning business is just very simple, but there are some things you have to know first when you are planning to enter this form of business. Indeed it is a simple business but it will provide you with huge opportunity of earning.

But first and foremost, you have to make a research. The cover of your research should be on the tips on how you can clean different types of stones.

Another thing you should consider is the location where you will set up your business as well as securing the business funding you will need. When it comes to location, you have to make sure that you start this business in a place close to your target clients. Apart from that, you must also make sure that your location is inviting to your customers.

11. Online funeral equipment Sales

An online showroom for selling funeral supplies is a lucrative idea for anyone who is interested in sales. Agreeably, most funeral homes sell caskets and other funeral supplies, but online funeral businesses specialize in caskets, casket linings, urns, gravemarkets and other burial supplies.

An internet business can function without maintaining inventory by fulfilling orders through manufacturers or other sources. Your internet business also can sell mortuary supplies such as gurneys, embalming tables, stretchers, body bags and church casket trucks.

Conclusion

In this line of business, those who establish a flawless reputation within their local community will win the business of locals for generations.

You need to make sure you market your business in a respectful manner. Always be there to console those who have lost a loved one. If you do not provide such support, customers will speak negatively about you to others.

Do not lose sight of the fact that your role as a funeral business owner is to provide funeral services as well as emotional support in the aftermath of death.

One problem with this industry is customer retention and satisfaction. We all can agree that funeral planning is rarely top-of-mind for consumers and death is not a topic most people wish to think about.

This is the more reason why public relation activities are very important in making sure that families are aware of your business service offerings.

No matter the niche you choose to start, its very advisable that you find enticing ways to contribute to your community through charitable initiatives, using the information you’ve gained through research to identify the best ways to make a difference.