The other day I read an article on Sheldon Yellen, CEO of the property-restoration company BELFOR Holdings, Inc., who writes a birthday card for every single one of his 9,200 employees. 

Yep, you read write. Over 9,000 birthday cards a year! Hand written. And upon further digging, we found out that Yellen doesn’t just handwrite cards for birthdays, but for other big life moments, too.

This practice started 25 years ago, when he was hired on to a start-up by his brother, and fellow employees thought he was getting special treatment. To devoid that, he started hand writing each of them cards, so that he could create a connection with them based on compassion.

It worked, and 25 years later, Yellen finds himself bringing a carry-on full of stationary for every flight he takes. 

So what did Yellen learn from this dedicated practice of gratitude? What is it about gratitude that can not only fuel your funeral business, but ignite it? Keep reading to find out below:

1. It creates happier employees.

In this same article, employees told Business Insider that “the traits they admire in their bosses are when they can call attention to career accomplishments, and express genuine interest in their well-being”. That means putting in the effort to invest in the thriving of your employees — not just at the workplace, but out of it, too.

2. Gratitude makes you happy, too.

Let’s be honest, if you’re not happy, it’s hard to consider your job, your role, or your company a success. Genuine happiness is void of economic gain or numbers. It’s something you have to feel from the inside, out. And the good news is, according to numerous research reports, showing and practicing gratitude actually makes you happier. Gratitude can also help us with adjusting during life transitions, processing big events and emotions, and moving on from trauma. 

3. It creates deeper connections with your client families

It might seem like such a small detail, but according to businesses who are very successful in other industries, gratitude is what sets you apart from your competitors. If you let your client families know how grateful you are for them to trust in you and your services, that creates a space for deeper connection, compassion, and appreciation. Plus, haven’t you ever heard the saying “what you appreciate, appreciates?” Appreciate your current client families, and they WILL appreciate.

Ideas for practicing gratitude in your funeral business

Now that we know how important gratitude is for your funeral business, here are a few ideas for how you can practice it:

1. Hand write a personalized thank you note to every single one of your client families. Send it through the mail, or simply hand it to them upon your last meeting. Trust us, this one goes a long way!
2. Write a follow-up message of gratitude to every new valuable professional connection you make. By following up with your professional contacts in the tune of gratitude, you can inspire creativity and connection to strike in new ways, catalyzing your funeral business.
3. Have a weekly gratitude circle with your funeral business employees where you can all high five and honor each other for the awesome things you did that week.
4. Write 3 things your grateful for everyday in a journal. You can try one for work, one for home, and one for yourself. If you don’t want to write it, you can simply do this mentally in the car on your way home.
5. Be grateful for every penny you earn. Remember when we said what you appreciate, appreciates? This goes for the dollar bills, too. By saying thank you for every penny you earn, you signal to the universe (or whatever you believe in) that you’d like more of that, please! Not in a greedy way, either. This is my #1 tool for my financial success.

Who knew how powerful a simple “thank you” can be! We hope this post inspires you to use gratitude in your personal life and business not just this Thanksgiving, but always. And on that note, THANK YOU for reading, and we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

How do you practice gratitude at your funeral business? Tell us in the comments below!

Krystal Penrose

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