Guidant Financial Group Blog

In the spirit of the holiday, we decided to highlight the ghoulish businesses that some of our clients considered.

When they tell you that there is a franchise for just about every business concept out there … they aren’t yanking your chain!

In August, NuWire Investor highlighted the five most unique franchises they could find (see Franchises for the Eccentric Entrepreneur). Guess what number one was?

1-800-AUTOPSY.

Yes, really. 1-800-AUTOPSY. According to NuWire:

“This franchise is exactly what it sounds like it is: a stand-alone service that performs autopsies. The company was founded by Vidal Herrera in 1988 and began as a one-man operation (no pun intended). 1-800-AUTOPSY franchises offer a variety of services, including toxicology and post-mortem DNA analysis, tissue procurement and, of course, autopsies. Clients include families who want private autopsies performed on deceased loved ones, malpractice lawyers seeking evidence for a trial and medical examiners, pathologists, and schools who need extra assistance."

If a private enterprise is more your style, you could always purchase a lot of land and open your own cemetery. With our ageing population, finding a desirable plot to spend the rest of your afterlife could be as difficult as finding a rent-controlled apartment in New York City (or so we hear). Additionally, there is always the opportunity to expand your services – casket sales, mortuary services and funeral services are all viable add-ons for this ground-level (or under) enterprise.

Interested in learning more? Check out another NuWire gem, Cemeteries: a Grave Business.

If real dead bodies aren’t really your thing, you can always get into the Halloween business. Like any other holiday, Halloween is a potential money-maker. One of Guidant’s existing 401(k) Small Business Financing clients used his skills as a professional ghost hunter to start a business in the Halloween industry (known to industry-insiders as the “fright” industry). He is currently planning a Halloween Expo for 2010 that will include all kinds of frightful vendors and even a zombie walk!

We hope you and your family have a safe and happy Halloween – and remember, it doesn’t have to end! At least not if you have a 1-800-AUTOPSY franchise!