Penguins Alternate Jersey, It\'s not everyday that compassion and business savvy interact, but when they do, watch out. And if you own a funeral home that sits Penguins Alternate Jersey surrounded by conglomerate competitors, it\'s not only helpful, but necessary. Timothy E. Ryan is just that man, with just those qualities, and he owns and operates not one family owned funeral home but seven, strategically located throughout the New Jersey shore. Ryan\'s business, which has been blossoming since 1984 and now does 600 funerals a year, was named the 2004 New Jersey Family Business of the Year, for businesses with less than $10 million in revenue, by New Jersey Monthly magazine and the Rothman Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Ryan proudly displays this achievement in one of the rooms at the firm\'s main location in Toms River-among dozens of other shiny plaques and framed newspaper articles that line the walls.
Nothing Succeeds Like Success
Although the early years were not easy, Ryan never doubted his decision. In fact his desire to own and operate his own funeral home was rooted at a very young age. His uncle, John J. Ryan entered the funeral business in 1947 with a funeral home in Monmouth County, N.J., planting the seeds for the Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals. He opened his business in 1947 and that was the inspiration as a young man, as a boy actually, to become a funeral director, said Ryan. Watching him interact with families. Ryan continued to work with his uncle, and that business was eventually taken over by his cousin, Jacqueline, who passed away two years ago. Her daughter, Catherine, will follow in her mother\'s footsteps as soon as she finishes mortuary science school. In the meantime, Tim Penguins Alternate Jersey Ryan is temporarily managing the home until Catherine is fully licensed. In 1973, Ryan began working for Colonial Funeral Homes which, at the time, was opening a new branch and the owner, John Cutaio, asked Ryan to manage it. He did. And 10 years later, he bought it along with one other branch. Ryan credits much of his success in business to Cutaio, who was one of Ryan\'s great mentors. Added Ryan, \"If he hadn\'t sold me those funeral homes, I wouldn\'t be where I am today.\" While Ryan accredits his business acumen to Cutaio, he will never forget the man who taught him the important technical aspects of the job. William L. Everett at Poulson and Vanhise Funeral Directors in Trenton, N.J., where Ryan did his apprenticeship was also an important mentor in his life. After purchasing the two funeral homes from John Cutaio, Ryan knew he could own and operate these two locations and \"have a nice little business with 100 funerals a year.\" However in the late 1980\'s and early 90\'s when the conglomerates were becoming key players, Ryan also knew that if he was going to compete, he had to grow. \"That\'s when I made the decision to expand,\" he said. And the key to his successful growth: \"I saw what was happening in Ocean County with the retirement villages so I came out here to St. Catherine Blvd.\" In order to create a business like the Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals, someone at the helm must be equal parts visionary and risk taker. Ryan fits that bill. He understands his market, he researches his market, and he is willing to take the necessary actions when he Penguins Alternate Jersey sees opportunity. His next purchase became the Fisher Blvd. location; the building had been of all things a bank. I knew from being involved in local politics that the East Dover section of Toms River was the most densely populated and there was no funeral home there, he said. Ryan always believed that the bank building, strategically located next to the second largest Catholic Church in the area, would be perfect. However, he joked, back then banks didn\'t just go out of business. But he always kept his eye on the location and in 1995 the bank merged and the building went on the market. After Ryan purchased and renovated the bank building into a funeral home, he heard \"through the rumor mill that Service Corporation International (SCI) was divesting properties. \" Ryan called SCI\'s headquarters in Houston, who put him through to an office in Canada, where he was ultimately told that, yes, the company was trying to get rid of a funeral home in Bayville, N.J., the O\'Connell funeral Home, which was family run before SCI took over. Ryan purchased the funeral home and returned it to family ownership. That location is now called the Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals-O\'Connell Chapel. \"Nothing succeeds like success,\" said Ryan and my ego is not shattered by that. As the county grew and the retirement community grew, Ryan\'s business also grew. He purchased the DeBow Funeral Home in Jackson, N.J. I went to Jackson because I saw the growth-101 square miles and there was only one competitor. Realizing the need for a funeral home in an area with a heavy Hispanic population, Ryan at one time owned a funeral home in Perth Amboy, N.J. A woman, Ana Maria Zevallos, was running the funeral home, and Ryan said, \"Was developing a nice clientele. It was a great service to the community.\" However, the city\'s board of education purchased the funeral home and all the other buildings on the block to construct a new school.
The Business Of Family
Not only does Ryan understand his market and how to grow within it, he also believes in the power of the independent, family run funeral business. \"I have this thing about family businesses,\" he said. \"I don\'t want to see family run funeral homes go the way of the local pharmacy, or the local hardware store.\" At one time, he reminisced, the local pharmacist would stay after 5 p.m. to fill a prescription, and the local hardware owner would \"not only sell you the washer, he\'d tell you how to fix the leak too.\" I would hate to see what traditionally has been a mom and pop business to lose that image. That is very important to me, said Ryan. Is it a coincidence that in the name, Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals, the word \"home\" comes before the word \"funeral?\" This firm\'s long history and reputation as a compassionate and welcoming family run business would suggest absolutely not. Ryan\'s firm may be the largest family run funeral business in New Jersey, but in size does not deter from its personal touch. Ryan\'s two sisters, Mary and Alice, as well as his daughter, Erin, work at the funeral home. And although he manages all seven locations, Ryan attends most viewings and funerals, even if one of his other six funeral directors have arranged the funeral. He explained that if the business has grown so big that the manager is no longer a hand\'s on member of the team, the very model he and his wife created is lost. Ryan\'s wife passed away at the age of 42, but early in their career, she came up with an idea that epitomized all that was important to them. \"She said, let\'s do something that lets the families know we appreciate their faith in us,\" said Ryan. Since so many of their client families have two viewings, one from 2-4 p.m. and another from 7-9 p.m., she came up with the idea to offer each family a cooked turkey to take home with them so they would have a nice dinner between the two viewings. She cooked each turkey herself. Today, Ryan has someone else do the cooking, but the tradition remains the same and is very much appreciated by the families. \"It\'s a little thing but it goes a long way,\" he said. Also apropos to the family touch: none of the funeral homes use answering machine. \"Everyone takes turns answering the phones,\" explained Ryan. \"I live above the Seaside Park branch. There are times when I answer the phone at 3 a.m. and people are surprised that they got me that means a whole lot.\"
