At the helm of a successful funeral home, a new cemetery, and a growing online cremation service, Bryce Bunker exemplifies a family-focused, service-centric approach that has propelled him to success in competitive corners of death care.  In this episode of the Direct Cremation Podcast, discover how Bryce's innovative methods have redefined service in the cemetery. Learn about his strategic insights into the fast-growing, highly competitive market of low-cost online cremations, and how his unique blend of compassion and entrepreneurship is setting new standards. Timestamps  (00:00) I ..read more

Jimmy Altmeyer is as impressive as they come. As a fourth-generation funeral director, he started with 3 funeral homes and has grown his empire into 53 rooftops and serves over 12,000 families each year. While that accomplishment alone is impressive, when you hear how Jimmy talks about the profession and the level of service that he strives to provide to every family that his companies serve, that’s where he really shines.  In this episode, Jimmy gives us a peek into how his funeral homes maintain such a high level of service at a scale larger than some corporately owned groups. You won’t ..read more

From answering the phone wrong to nickel and diming your families all the way to the bank, in this episodes of the Direct Cremation Podcast, we discuss some of the biggest mistakes that will absolutely kill your cremation brand.  After managing one of the largest cremation brands in the world (5,000+ cremations/year) to now training and consulting for hundreds of cremation companies across the country, Ashley Jones has seen a lot of different approaches to building a cremation company. In this episode, we discuss some of the biggest mistakes that owners make that have destroyed promising ..read more

The stressful environment of the death care professional can be non-stop. Burnout rates are high, and turnover seems to be an ever-present issue withing the funeral profession. In this episode, Will de Michaelis shares his insightful journey into the world of breathwork and meditation.  While you might think that these are non-sense things for hippies, Will would respectfully disagree. See how breathwork can create lower anxiety, less stress, and the ability to be more connected to people and relationship, the most important facets of death care. "Don't judge a book by it's cover" definit ..read more

With over 80% of new graduates of mortuary school being female, the need for a death care group centered around empowering women is becoming increasingly vital. Founded by some of the more influential women in death care, the Death Care Collective is just getting started.  Whether you're an owner, a manager, or even just a new graduate, understanding the challenges and support needed for the new majority of death care is important.  In this episode, we talk to Erin Creger, founding member, as we talk about how this group started out of COVID, grew with some of the most influential wo ..read more

In this exclusive webinar, co-hosts Tyler Yamasaki and Will de Michaelis sit down with Poul Lemasters, a renowned death care lawyer and key advisor to the FTC’s changes, to speak about the upcoming changes. In this talk, we discussed: Why the FTC is amending the Funeral Rule now. Which amendments are likely to change. What impacts this will have on your funeral home. When these changes will take affect. Described as "the most informative webinar I've attended in regards to this topic", this is not one you want to miss. For Innovative Funeral Directors Blazing a Trail. A podcast for funeral h ..read more

Sandra Walker boasts an impressive career in the death care industry. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Fairmount Memorial Association, overseeing seven memorial parks and a few cremation brands. Additionally, she holds a position on the board of the Cremation Association of North America and is a founding member of the Death Care Collective. This remarkable journey follows nearly two decades of dedication at SCI. Despite her accomplishments, Sandra humbly attributes her success to great mentors and a support system in death care. However, her path has been marked by unwav ..read more

Funeral home competition is becoming increasingly intense due to a combination of factors, such as the lack of future generations wanting to continue the family business and increased investment in the field.  An experienced death care professional had four clients call her in the week before a conference, expressing their intention to file for bankruptcy. This is unprecedented and raises concerns about the state of the funeral profession.  The clients that called her shared common themes: low sales, dwindling case numbers, being traditional smaller firms in rural areas, and not keep ..read more

Maggie McMillan quietly runs the #1 funeral company in Southern California, one largest and busiest regions in the country. Serving thousands of families a year. Her expansive funeral empire covers everything from prestigious full-service funeral homes, an eco-conscious natural burial cemetery, a handful of online cremation services, and an essential B2B mortuary services company.  Just a few of her properties include: Wiefels & Son Mortuary, Wiefels Cremation and Funeral Services, All California Cremation, Simply Remembered, Joshua Tree Memorial Park.  In this episode, Maggie pu ..read more

Welton Hong is one of the most well-respected people in death care. As the CEO of Ring Ring Marketing, Welton Hong has made the unlikely journey of becoming one of the best to help funeral homes successfully market their services to families. His customers sing their praises and attribute a lot of their marketing success to his company. In this episode we discuss: Why pay a marketing company in death care? What is the single most important thing a funeral home needs to do to stand out online? Do you need to be number one on Google to be successful? What does death care look like in 10 years ..read more