Event and sympathy mix

Definition

How the year splits between weddings, funeral work, and people walking in off the street.

Why It Matters

The three are different businesses wearing one storefront. Sympathy work arrives through relationships with funeral homes and can leave with a phone call; weddings are booked a year out and depend on a designer's portfolio; retail follows the sign and the season. Ask for the split by revenue and by margin, then ask who at the shop holds each relationship, because that answer decides how much of this survives the seller's last day.