Start A Tombstones Business - Business Ideas

Pat Walls

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Updated: September 15th, 2022

Start A Tombstones Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Have you thought of becoming a monument specialist? If so, the tombstone business is a viable idea for monument specialists.

Monument specializes use high-quality laser etching for engraving an image or letters onto a granite tombstone. Take your tombstone-making business to another level by using laser etching to print particular messages and pictures on monuments.

Starting a tombstones business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell tombstones, or selling tombstones online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a tombstones business ➜

Key Stats

market size

$8.01B

starting costs

$10.9K

gross margin

53%

avg product price

$1000

time to build

210 days

growth

Organic social media

business model

Subscriptions

time investment

Full time

Startup Costs

	Min Startup Costs	Max Startup Costs
Office Space Expenses	$0	$7,000
Equipment & Supply Expenses	$66	$700
Inventory Expenses	$50	$9,750
Software Expenses	$12	$575
Advertising & Marketing Costs	$0	$3,000
Website Costs	$13	$215
Specific Industry Expenses	$0	$500
Total Startup Costs	$141	$21,740

See all startup costs ➜

Successful Businesses

Business	URL	Rank
TOMBSTONE TACTICAL	tombstonetactical.com	134,505
Legacy Headstones	legacyheadstones.com	689,068
ROME MONUMENTS	romemonuments.com	935,841
Signature Headstones	signatureheadstones.com	1,713,237
Peter Troost Monument Company	troost.com	2,124,728
TombstoneWeb.com – Tombstone Arizona Information	tombstoneweb.com	2,177,956
Grave Markers & Upright Headstones with Free Shipping Deals	headstonedeals.com	2,234,322
Buy Headstones For Sale & Cemetery Markers	edgewoodmonuments.com	2,381,269
Iowa Gravestones	iowagravestones.org	2,510,393
Tombstone Factory	tombstonefactory.co.za	2,661,625
Quality Cemetery Markers at discount prices	affordable-markers.com	2,859,674

See all businesses ➜

Pros & Cons

Pros	Description
Flexibility	You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.
Ability to start your business from home	It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!
Rewarding work	Starting a tombstones business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.
Scalable	With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.
Meaningful business connections	You never know who you will meet as a tombstones business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!
Quick build time	The average time it takes to build your product is quick - typically around 7 months. This will allow you to bring your product to market faster.

See all pros ➜

Cons	Description
Crowded Space	Competition is high when it comes to your tombstones business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.
Low margins	The gross margins for your tombstones business are typically around 53%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.
Work can be inconsistent	As a tombstones business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.
Lack of benefits	With a tombstones business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.
Taxes	As a tombstones business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.
No safety net	Typically, as a tombstones business, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

See all cons ➜

Marketing Ideas

1

Word of mouth

Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

Learn more about word of mouth ➜
2

Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.
According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.
Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.

Learn more about social media advertising ➜
3

Referral Program

A referral program is the type of marketing where you state an offer to your existing customers for the act of creating a word-of-mouth referral that converts.
According to SEMrush, word-of-mouth is considered to be one of the top traffic sources for small businesses that practice affiliate marketing.
Launching a referral program is a great marketing strategy for growing a small business. An effective referral program enables startups to increase lead generation and an active audience.

Learn more about referral program ➜

See all marketing ideas ➜

Key Stats

Startup Costs

Successful Businesses

134,505

689,068

935,841

1,713,237

2,124,728

2,177,956

2,234,322

2,381,269

2,510,393

2,661,625

2,859,674

Pros & Cons

Marketing Ideas

Word of mouth

Social Media Advertising

Referral Program