Basic HTML Version
Page A26
OCTOBER 2014
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
Your children aren’t supposted to
die before you... It’s just not right.
Courtney had just delivered her
second baby when she discovered
a lump. The doctors thought it was
hormones; it was not.
Why her, why couldn’t it have been
me? But, it wasn’t and now—after
months of fighting this awful
disease—she’s gone. What are we
going to do without her?
See Page A28
Economy Cremation 2PK
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Inside dimension measures
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ber 2014 at 2520 Shiloh
Springs Rd. “Our goal will
be to provide exceptional
cremation service that fu-
neral homes see as bene-
ficial support for them to
provide to their families, I
personally feel ‘To whom
much is given, much is ex-
pected’ and I have been
given the opportunity to
provide this service not
only to the African Ameri-
can community but to sur-
rounding communities,”
he stated.
Cutt Team, LLC is dedi-
cated to growing the net-
work of professionals in
business. Rooted in a be-
lief that a well-informed,
active and engaged gener-
ation of leaders should be
saluted to the fullest, they
aim to spotlight and cel-
ebrate these strong front-
runners that are driving
the growth of business in
our communities forward
in their endeavors. With
the “Celebration of He-
roes” award, they honor
and celebrate the achieve-
ments of individuals who
have made a notable im-
pact and contributed to-
wards building a greater
society.
Christopher
Pryor
Honored
During
Celebration
of Heroes
NEWARK,DE—
“I once
heard a saying about fam-
ily-owned businesses that
I just can’t forget,” says
Harvey Smith,
former
owner of
Spicer-Mul-
likin Funeral Homes.
“It goes something like
this: ‘Father, founder of
the company; son, rich;
and grandson, poor.’ The
grandfather works to
build the business. The
son takes over and has
no business sense but en-
joys spending the mon-
ey earned by his father.
Then the grandson in-
herits a floundering busi-
It’s All in the Family at Spicer-Mullikin
Funeral Homes
Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home Carriage House
Matthew Smith, owner of Spicer-Mullikin Funeral
Homes, and his father, Harvey Smith
ness and an empty bank account.”
Harvey’s son,
Matthew Smith,
re-
cently took over as sole owner of the
family-owned Spicer-Mullikin Funer-
al Homes, so the phrase Harvey once
heard is fresh in his mind. But he is
clear that he doesn’t worry about Mat-
thew lacking the management sense
necessary to carry on the business.
“I am fortunate to have my son Mat-
thew,” says Harvey. “He’s not just in-
terested in what he can take and get
from the business. He’s actually giving
all he’s got to the business and wants to
make it better than what it is now. He
brings a fresh perspective, not every-
one with a family business is so lucky.”
“There are many benefits that come
with running your own business,”
says Matthew. “But then, too, there
are challenges, and I do feel that some
of the issues I encounter are specific
to family-owned businesses.”
It’s personal, and it’s business.
Similar
to those running corporations, family
business owners often make difficult
decisions. But unlike their corporate
counterparts, they must consider how
each choice affects them, as well as
their families for generations to come.
Tunnel vision limits growth.
In a
family-owned business, people who
are from the same background and
have the same needs make all the
decisions. This lack of diversity can
negatively impact choices and ham-
per growth. Business consultants and
employees hired from outside of the
family can help family business own-
ers overcome limitations set by nar-
row perspectives. Sometimes, fam-
ily-owned businesses can sidestep
the consequences of tunnel vision by
simply passing the business on from
one generation to the next.
“A business cannot grow unless
its owners are willing to grow,” says
Matthew. “And you don’t necessari-
ly have to change everything as you
grow. For me, the best business prac-
tices involve keeping all the tradi-
tions that work and tweaking them
just a bit to reflect and accommodate
changes that become inevitable with
time. Positive growth is about find-
ing the right balance between making
changes and respecting time honored
or ‘tried and true’ traditions.”
Harvey adds, “Matthew is help-
ing Spicer-Mullikin keep its edge in
the market. He’s in touch with peo-
ple from younger generations who
come in to make funeral arrange-
ments for their parents or grandpar-
ents. Matthew knows the community
he serves, and that is critical to any
business’s success.”
Many family business owners find
the rewards of their efforts far out-
weigh the challenges. They never for-
get that the people they serve are the
heart of their business, and are always
willing to go that extra mile for the
communities they serve.
“With a family business, you are your
own boss,” notes Harvey. “You are able to
do things the way you want to do them
– not the way a board of directors wants
you to do them. That is an advantage for
my son, Matt, and the communities he
serves as well. If we are planning a funer-
al service with a family that doesn’t have
the means to pay up front, we can work
something out with them. Corporate-
owned funeral homes often don’t have
those kinds of options.”
Family-owned businesses thrive on team
effort and hard work. Many families like
working with family-owned businesses
because they value the same principles
and understand each other.
“Spicer-Mullikin is a family working
with families,” says Matthew. We truly
understand the communities we serve,
and that gives us an advantage.”
“The biggest advantage we have over
the funeral homes run by corporations is
that thing that every person facing a loss
needs… the personal touch,” says Mat-
thew. “We are human beings dealing with
our fellow human beings in their saddest,
most stressful and most vulnerable mo-
ments. A personal touch, empathy and
compassion really go a long way in these
situations.”
Family-owned businesses are about much
more than business itself. They thrive on
relationships, values, planning, service and
community. As a result, those who patron-
ize family-owned businesses benefit from
the strength of these priorities.
“Spicer-Mullikin has been serving this
community for more than 108 years,”
says Matthew. “We live and breathe our
commun
ma-
tion, visi