A business idea?

[chickenfeet]

It seems that more and more people are opting out of the conventional funeral thing, i'e' the traditional mournful, black unsmilling stuff. Instead they are having upbeat memorials, "celebrations of life", wakes or whatever. The snag is, even if one organises the whole thing oneself one still has to deal with the conventional Funeral Director services for transport of the body (even if, like mine, the body is heading off to hospital or medical school), burial or cremation etc. For more elaborate funerals there are no other organising options. This seems to me to leave an unfilled niche (probably with an urn in it).

I'm wondering about the prospects for a new business venture, provisionally called Happy Endings™, which would act as a final logistics and party planning service. The premises could be used for wakes, the crematorium would be decorated in appropriately upbeat style, we would offer a range of not too expensive but fun coffins, a hearse painted like the magic bus etc. What do you think? Would you invest in such a venture?

Comments

[lemur-catta.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking you'd want to place more emphasis on the after-party than the corpse itself since I suspect most of your target market would rather have a quick, simple, environmentally-friendly cremation than than burial (let alone open-casket) but, still the possibilities are endless. The folks who pick up the body can wear funny costumes and drive a rainbow hearse. You could organise amusing urns shaped like bongs and hookahs and spaceships, ash-spreading balloon trips,
fully-catered, celebration-of-life memorial bashes with themes like Dia de los Muertos, Finnegan's Wake, or Karma Casino (spin the Reincarnation Roulette wheel to see what the 'guest of honour' might be next time round).

If they really want the open casket, maybe they'd like to be made up like their favourite character from Interview with a Vampire or even Cirque du Soleil! Pall bearers can be costumed accordingly.

[pigsnout000.livejournal.com]

I like it. Lots of fun, though it maybe that you would have to offer both services for people who still want the whole funeral service deal