Oliver Towner: Taking the Reins of a Family-Run Funeral Business

This week's episode, Steve chats with Oliver Towner all about what it's been like taking on a 150-year-old family-run business, the ins and outs of the funeral industry & its biggest misconceptions. Plus, Oliver shares what it was really like working his first funeral, navigating Covid & why sustainability is a growing factor in all funerals.00:00 Intro01:58 Growing up in a family business03:12 What Oliver did before joining the business05:30 First day working on a funeral & the day to day jobs08:38 Biggest misconceptions about funerals & funeral directors10:30 Furniture side of funerals13:00 Oliver taking on the role as Managing Director & the transition from taking over from his dad19:50 What covid was like in the funeral industry23:35 Hardest point of Olivers time so far25:31 Olivers release from the pressures28:50 Olivers ‘Baptism of fire’30:27 Olivers plans for the business34:10 Biggest changes Oliver has made35:20 Sustainability in the industry38:52 Why Towners dont do any specific marketing42:30 How data works in the funeral industry44:54 Biggest risks going forward in the industry47:00 Grief & Death - why dont we talk about it53:00 Quickfire Questions59:40 Outro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.