Coming Attractions

And unfortunately so does someone else. While death may seem a bit macabre as a springboard for a business opportunity, approximately 2.3 million Americans died in 1996. With the number of seniors increasing dramatically, we've found mortality seems to be on many franchisors' minds. Customers can purchase funeral merchandise directly through ConsumerCasket USA Inc. instead of paying the notoriously inflated prices most funeral homes charge. Autopsy/Post Services Franchise Inc., which started selling franchises in December to some of its 2,800 applicants, performs both forensic autopsies (when the cause of death has legal implications) and private autopsies (when the family questions the cause of death) for a fee, as most hospitals don't offer the procedure routinely. The lesson to be learned? Next time you think a concept can't be franchised, think again.

This article was originally published in the January 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Coming Attractions.