New Year's Eve 2024 - New Business Q&A
I got an email recently from someone thinking of starting a grave care business. I truly love when people reach out to ask about grave tending and am more than happy to share my knowledge and experience. This person had a few particularly good questions, and as I was answering, I thought I'd share with you!
How did you first generate business?
I put a small add in local church bulletins. That was back in 2016, and that's still a great source, but it can be expensive. Over time, I’ve found my website generates more and more traffic. (Not social media.)
Do you need the cemetery's/town permission?
Generally, no. I don’t use power tools and am not fixing broken headstones or leveling them, so I just go in and plant/clean. But ever once in a while (more, recently), if I contact a cemetery to find the stone, they will ask for the gravesite owner to fill out a form.
Have you altered your pricing or services over the years?
Yup! For pricing, I started a lot lower, but as I learned more about my costs (from flowers to marketing…and my time), I adjusted.
For services, my base services remain cleaning and planting. For planting, my clients started with just wanting once/year (~Memorial Day) but now want fall plus a winter prep service plus a cemetery log drop-off. It’s amazing…and wonderful. Once a client has once service, the love it – how it looks and how they feel – and want more services so their loved one is cared for all year long.
Are you able to clean stones in the winter?
Nope! Consider the phrase “bridge freezes before road.” Stone freezes before the earth. Spraying water and cleaning solution on a cold stone just ends up in you scraping off frozen water and solution! I don’t clean between mid-October and mid-April (weather dependent). If I was not located in central Massachusetts, maybe I’d be able to clean year-round.
Has there been enough business to operate as a fulltime career or is it more of a side job?
It depends. Right now, I have a full-time job so I never looked for it to be more than a side-hustle. And, back when I started in 2016, not many people knew about grave tending, so it wasn’t possible to gain enough clients. Today, it’s almost possible. It depends on the number of clients you can get. I finally have enough clients that next spring I’m going to need some help. But again, I didn’t advertise this year (because I was focused on writing my book).
Ultimately, you need to understand your costs, and based on the profit from each job, how many clients you’d need to make your base income level. I suggest starting it as a side-job and see how it goes first.
If you have questions about grave tending - cleaning or planting, marketing or invoicing - send me an email or comment below. I'll do my best to answer them! (And, of course, please join our Grave Tending Professionals private community and gain the wisdom of everyone in the group!)
