There is one thing the funeral profession can always use more of…

Can you guess it?

Innovation? Technology? Return on investment? Client families?

Agreeably, maybe the profession could use more of all of those. But what DRIVES innovation, technology, ROI and client families is…

(drum roll please)

Inspiration.

Yes, funeral professional. You, myself, and everyone around us could always use more inspiration.

A more inspired funeral business is a more inspiring funeral business. And when it comes to creating unique life celebrations, sourcing inspiration is an important step in the process.

Check out all the inspiration we’ve gathered below for your next unique life celebration:

1. Pinterest

If you’ve been in the business of funeral personalization for a while, you probably know that Pinterest is the mecca of personalized funeral ideas. The amount of inspiring boards there are to spark some new ideas is countless! The best part about Pinterest is that you can save all of your ideas to your own personal Pinterest board, and share them with others on your team at your funeral home.

Here are some of our favorite life celebration Pinterest boards:

• Celebration of Life Ideas
• Celebration of Life Ideas #2
• Funeral Personalization Ideas
• Funeral Personalization Inspiration

2. Ted Talks

Did you know there is an entire section of Ted Talks dedicated to death, dying, grief, and life celebrations? If you didn’t know, now you know! These talks provide the f1 team with tons of inspiration and chances are, you’ve seen many of them on our social media in recent months. These talks are SO jam packed with knowledge, wisdom, science and variety, that we guarantee something new will spark within you when watching them.

Check out our favorite Ted Talks below:

• When I die, recompose me
• What I learned from 2,000 obituaries
• There’s a better way to die, and architecture can help
• Prepare for a good end of life

3. Industry blogs

Although they are few, there are some blogs in the funeral profession that offer lots of inspiration, musings and ideas. These blogs are often managed by thought leaders in the profession who are truly walking the walk when it comes to supporting families. We recommend subscribing to these blogs so that you can open the channel for a consistent stream of inspiration for yourself every day, week, month… and so on. Stay inspired through these blogs, and see how it transpires in the way you help your families celebrate their loved one’s life.

These are some of our favorite funeral personalization-focused blogs to follow:

• Love Lives On blog & articles
• The Funeral Zone blog
• A Good Goodbye
• The Golden Rule Funeral Home

4. Funeral celebrant websites

If your funeral home doesn’t already have a funeral celebrant on staff with plenty of ideas to contribute to your team, that’s okay! You can have your own virtual celebrant by creating a bookmarked folder of your favorite celebrant websites. Then, make a commitment to gather some of your favorite ideas once a month. If you commit to checking these sources on a regular basis, you’ll STAY inspired and this will shine through everything you do at your funeral home.

Bookmark these celebrant websites to stay inspired:

• The Inspired Funeral
• Write Out Loud
• The House

5. Instagram

Alas, the funeral profession and Instagram meet. I don’t know many people in this profession using Instagram in an inspiring way, but those who are… are making a big impact. You can use hashtags such as #celebratelife and #funeralcelebrant to scope out some imaginative ideas, or you can simply follow these Insta handles for some visual motivation for your next personalized funeral…

Give these industry leaders  follow on Instagram:

• @talkdeathdaily
• @confessions_of_a_funeral_dir
• @deathdoulala
• @undertakingLA
• @theschoolofdeathberlin

6. Your families

Any great funeral director will tell you that their greatest inspiration for a service unique to the life lived  is often going to come from the very person you’re planning it for. Co-creation truly is a magical thing, and the better you are at opening the communication channel between you and your families, the more room there will be for inspiration to come through.

Here are some recommended articles on how to improve that communication channel with families:

• 10 Questions to Ask Families That Turn An Average Funeral Service Into A Unique Celebration
• How To Be A Better Communicator with Your Families [Slide Deck]
• The Art of Imagineering a Unique Funeral Service
• These Questions Will Help You Design The Perfect Personalized Funerals
• How to Make Death & Dying An Inspiring Conversation [Not a Dreadful One]

And don’t forget about your funeral personalization software…

If you’re looking for an all-in-one personalization software that will keep you inspired with countless themes, layouts and songs to offer your families, try a 30-day free trial of Life Tributes! Click here to receive your free 30-day trial.

What other sources of inspiration do you use at your funeral home for creating unique life celebrations? Tell us in the comments below!

Rochelle Rietow

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