Buying, Selling & Succession Planning Toolkit
Are you thinking about expanding your business through acquiring a firm or adding another rooftop? Or has the time come for you to consider transferring your firm to the next generation, an employee, another independent or even a corporate purchaser? These are weighty questions, and something many funeral home business owners only think about a few times in their careers at most. Many people simply don’t know where to start or how to get information about the process of buying and selling. This toolkit is a starting place for you.
Choose a Location:
Sessions & Webinars
Maximizing the Value of Your Funeral Business
Chris Farmer of The Farmer Firm and Tim Bridgers of Live Oak Bank discuss how to set your firm up to maximize its value in the days, months and years ahead of potential sale or generational transfer.
Webinar PowerPoint Slide Presentation
How Does a Sale Work and How to Avoid Common Pitfalls
Chris Farmer and Tim Bridgers return to walk you through the process to understand all the options so you can decide which is best for your business.
Acquiring an Existing Funeral Business: What You Need to Know
Jake Johnson of Johnson Consulting Group will walk members through how to evaluate a funeral business as a potential acquisition target. This session will get members up to speed on the ins and outs of buying a funeral business and provide insight on when this option may help your business grow and grow stronger.
Tim Bridgers
"Succession Planning: Take One"
Tim Bridgers, General Manager for the funeral home and
cemetery financing team at Live Oak Bank, provides an in-depth look at succession planning from a lender's
perspective. This discussion will highlight key metrics within the financial data of the business, and
implications in supporting future debt.
James R. Strong
"Succession Planning: Take Two"
James R. (Bud) Strong, Partner and former Chair of the
Private Wealth Group with Husch Blackwell LLP, focuses on real-life examples that illustrate the main things
to avoid in succession planning, not only from a legal and tax perspective, but also from the standpoint of
avoiding internal business management conflicts and family conflicts that can often be extremely damaging and
stressful.
What You Need to Do Before Selling Your Business
- Date: 2024
- Tim Bridgers and Ryan Thogmartin on Succession Planning
Annual Meeting Session: Passing the Torch: Generational and Key Employee Succession
- Date: 2024
- One of the most critical moments in the lifecycle of a family business is the transfer of ownership to the next generation or key employee. What ought to be straightforward in ownership succession is often complicated, fragile and disruptive. Join us for an in-depth discussion and analysis of real-life succession examples and learnings from fellow Members: Jonathan Holloway with Holloway Funeral Home, Randy Anderson with Radney Funeral Homes and Murrell W. Thornhill, IV with Tharp Funeral Home and Crematory. As many owners desire to keep the family legacy intact and maintain independent ownership, proper planning, communication and transfer of knowledge are crucial in avoiding the pitfalls that can derail the duration of a family-controlled business.
- Vew the recorded session at the 2024 Annual Meeting from the OneRoom virtual livestreams. You will be prompted to register with your name to watch the recording.
Annual Meeting Session: "Expanding Your Firm’s Footprint"
- Date: 2023
- Selected members Bill McReavy with Washburn-McReavy Funeral Chapels, Inc., MN; Robert Nunnaley with Fry & Prickett Funeral Home, NC; and Jeff Smith with Smith Family Funeral Homes, AR; share their experiences and insights on how they’ve expanded their firm’s footprint through acquisition, expansion and organic growth.
Annual Meeting Session: "Growing Your Business to Best Serve Your Market"
- Date: 2022
- Planning for the future has never been more important than it is today. Sarah Pojanowski, Selected General Counsel, led a panel of members sharing the ups and downs of their succession planning experience. In addition, participants had ample time for interactive dialogue to ask questions and share experiences.
Annual Meeting Session: "Ensuring the Future of Your Firm with the Right Succession Plan"
- Date: 2021
- Rob Paterkiewicz, Selected Executive Director & CEO, facilitates this eye-opening, encouraging and, perhaps, sometimes uncomfortable, review of actual succession planning case studies from funeral firms as well as insight into a variety of succession planning options. Panelists include Jim Busch, Owner and President of Busch Funeral and Crematory Services; Jake Johnson, President and CEO of Johnson Consulting Group; and Tim Bridgers, SVP — Head of Funeral Home & Cemetery Lending at Live Oak Bank.
Forum FOCUS: Answers for Succession Success | The Dynamics of Buying, Selling & Succession Planning
Moderator: Jim Busch, Busch Funeral and Crematory Services
Date: July 7, 2022
Resources:
Forum FOCUS: Growth and Your Funeral Business | The Dynamics of Buying, Selling & Succession Planning
Moderator: Sarah Pojanowki, Selected’s Legal Counsel
Date: December 2, 2021
Resources
Leadership Academy Capstone: "Succession Planning in a Nutshell"
Presented by Whitney Pegues-Beck
Date: 2020
Articles
Preparing for the Loss of an Owner (Deloitte Private)
Leadership Transition and the Next Generation (Deloitte Private)
The Future of the Business: How to Prepare for a Sale and Other Exit Strategy Options (Deloitte Private)
The Who, When, and How to Business Succession Planning (Federated Insurance)
Planning for the Family Business Transition: "What's Next?" (Federated Insurance)
Checklist: Are You Ready to Sell? (Johnson Consulting Group, March 2021)
The Acquisition Process Checklist (Live Oak Bank, October 2020)
A Guide to Buying a Business (Live Oak Bank, October 2020)
Why Your Succession Plan is Failing (McKee Wallwork + Company, February 2020)
Maximizing Your Business Value: Now and For the Future (Johnson Consulting Group)
Buying or Selling a Funeral Home or Cemetery ( The Foresight Company October 2021)
Live Oak Bank’s Guide to Selling a Business (Live Oak Bank December 2021)
In addtion visit:
Growth Community
Planning for the future has never been more important than it is today. Whether you are interested in growing your rooftops, expanding into ancillary business lines, investing in funeral service-related businesses with other like-minded individuals, or even selling your firm to another independent operator, Selected is here to support you and provide the resources necessary to get where you need to go. Learn More.
The Selected Acquisitions Marketplace
The Selected Acquisition Marketplace connects members who wish to sell their firm with members interested in acquisition and investment opportunities. This private, members-only program helps keep Selected members independently owned. Learn More.