Perennial Business Model: Executive Summary

Perennial is an innovative facility dedicated to the circular celebration of life + eternal nature of energy, offering both environmentally friendly End Of Life Services and transformational grief, physical and spiritual support through our unique Transition Support Services. We champion environmental sustainability and holistic grief support by integrating green burial practices with a comprehensive approach to emotional healing for the grieving living.

Environmental Impact and Sustainability:

Perennial facilitates a green burial process that returns bodies to the earth, promoting soil regeneration and carbon sequestration. This approach aligns with the top climate solutions recommended by leading climate non-profit Project Drawdown and soil scientists, contributing significantly to environmental conservation with the potential to also create an entirely new opportunity within the carbon marketplace.

Grief Support and Healing:

Our facility provides extensive support for those grieving the loss of loved ones through a range of mindful and wellness-focused services. We provide customized Celebration of Life Experiences which honor loved ones passed according to any and all individual religious, spiritual, and personal beliefs and preferences. 

Further, we also offer Transition Support Services which help individuals process the full spectrum of their emotions—grief, pain, joy, and love—through somatic healing practices such as ecstatic dance, reiki, meditation, and breathwork. 

Holistic Celebrations:

Perennial’s commitment to honoring life extends to creating personalized memorial and ritual experiences. We offer the ability for families and loved ones to honor the body of their loved one through offerings like ritual body preparation, honoring bodies’ transition back to the earth. After a loved one’s body is returned to the soil, we return the enriched soil to the family, allowing them to incorporate it into their own memorials, such as garden beds or memorial trees. Families can also place a portion of the soil along our "Walking Path of Remembrance," a serene space open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

By merging environmental responsibility with compassionate grief support and Celebration of Life Experiences, Perennial offers a meaningful and respectful approach to managing death and celebrating life, supporting both the planet and the emotional well-being of families.

Opportunity

A Problem Worth Solving

Today's funeral services are highly environmentally unfriendly. Each cremation creates 534 lbs. of carbon while a traditional burial generates 250 lbs. of carbon. The average number of annual cremations by state is conservatively 20,134 based on the 10 highest + 5 lowest percentage cremation states, excluding high population states like California, New York and Florida.

Cremations in the US alone, conservatively account for 533,577,800 MT of CO2e annually; equivalent to 126,992,486 gas-powered cars being driven for a year. The U.S. cremation rate is expected to increase from 60.5% in 2023 to 81.4% by 2045, according to the National Funeral Directors Association's (NFDA) 2023 Cremation and Burial Report. 

Meanwhile, an environmentally positive solution already exists - one which sequesters CO2e back into the soil, both increasing soil health and creating a natural carbon sink. Green Burial is currently legal in all states with the appropriate death certificate and permits. Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), which is newly legislated as legal in 7 U.S. States, returns bodies to regenerate the soil of Mother Earth, inspired by ancient practices, utilizing minimal unnecessary materials and eliminating excess consumption. 

NOR is more economical, environmentally friendly, and respectful of the body and the earth than the methods of disposal that are typically practiced in technologically advanced societies.

Cremation uses fossil fuels or large amounts of wood for funeral pyres (both of which generate polluting smoke and release large amounts of carbon), and conventional burial is land-intensive, has a high carbon footprint, and frequently involves disposing of bodily fluids and liquefied organs in the sewer and injecting the body with toxic embalming chemicals.

By contrast, NOR, like natural burial, is a natural process and contributes ecological value by preserving the body's nutrient material. Some have argued that "natural organic reduction respects the human body and spirit, supports rather than sullies the earth, and works with nature rather than against it." (site)

Further, the average funeral can cost anywhere from $18K-$22K; while Green Burial or NOR costs anywhere from $3K-$7K on average, making it a significantly more appealing, inclusive, financial alternative; while simultaneously being environmentally sound. 

Finally, the next generational majority of people who will be managing the largest phase of age-related deaths are Millennials, followed by Gen Z. This cohort of individuals is statistically much more focused on environmental consciousness as well as not having had as much financial success as their Baby Boomer parents or relatives, making the financial differentiation a significant appeal, as well. 

Our Solution

Perennial provides literal and spiritual Circular Celebration of Life. By returning bodies to mother earth, we regenerate soil and sequester carbon, one of the top climate solutions proposed by leading environmental nonprofit, Project Drawdown. Further, we provide deep emotional support for the living grieving;  via our wellness focused, mindfulness-based spaces + services focused on soul healing + personal regeneration. We provide green burial services as well as mindfulness support services to aid in the grieving process of the families of loved ones in passing. 

Our services not only enable earth-conscious management of death; we also enable the flourishing and holistic support for the grieving with our conscious celebration of life services.

Through our Transition Support Services, we encourage and allow guests to observe the essential energies of their emotions; grief, pain, joy, love. We offer healing services which support somatic (nervous system) healing work; including reiki, meditation, breathwork. We also provide Customized Celebration of Life Experiences; which allow guests to celebrate the lives of their loved ones, per their own chosen religious, spiritual and healing preferences. All love-based religious practices are welcome at Perennial. 

When a loved one's body has returned to the soil, we then return that soil back to their loved ones to be used in honor of their loved one in spirit. This soil can then be used in their garden, flower bed or to plant a memorial tree in their honor. We also provide them with a small amount to place along our "Walking Path Of Remembrance", which is on Perennial property and able to be accessed from 7a-7p daily for a hike of remembrance. 

Target Market

3,464,231 people passed in the U.S. in 2023, averaging to 69,285 people per state, per year.

In 2004, there were 21,568 Funeral Homes in the U.S.; in 2022 that number had decreased to 18,966, most likely due to pandemic-based small business closures. 

From the above calculations, this means that the average funeral home has a prospective pool of 182 services annually. At $7,000 per year ($6K less than the low end of average funeral services), that is $1,274,000 in potential revenue, simply based on burials; not considering the revenue potential of the Customized Celebration of Life Experiences, Transition Support + Somatic Healing Services. Further, if we took (250) annual $2,500 deposits for future funeral services, this would mean we could generate an additional $625,000 in annual revenue for future services. 

The additional revenue streams from Customized Celebration of Life Experiences, Transition Support + Somatic Healing Services would be estimated to be starting anywhere from $2,500-$15,000 per service, meaning that the potential for that added revenue stream could account for anywhere from $455,000 to $2,730,000 in additional revenue, conservatively. 

Competition

Current Alternatives

There are many death technologies coming to market such as Empathy, Farewill, Guardian Angel, Bios Urn, Tomorrow Biostasis - and further there are companies like Recompose, Kindly Earth, Window of Memories, Grievy, Bank of Memories, Exizent, HEREweHOLO, Meine Erde and Vinyly who are offering sustainable burial alternatives. 

In our view, there is no one who is both tackling the environmental challenges that unsustainable end of life management pose and the healing/grieving process of the grieving living in a way that is focused fully on both the earth and the experience; i.e. both human and planetary wellbeing. 

Ideally, we combine partnership with a death tech provider with a premium soul-healing regenerative and connective experience by way of our acceptance and encouragement of all religions, rituals and healing modalities to amplify the opportunity of human connection by way of revisiting and reinvigorating the honoring of death as a sacred and beautiful part of life. 

At a minimum, we would ideally streamline the process of acquiring a death certificate and the permitting process. 

Our Advantages

Our advantage lies in our extensive expertise in conscious human connection, hospitality, sustainability, empathy, accommodation, practical mysticism and, ultimately, love.

With decades of experience understanding and creating curated experiences through the lens of human connection based in sustainability, we are experts as to what makes humans feel the ways in which they feel - and how we can assist them in their healing journey. 

A pervasive  fear of death encompasses three of the top 5 fears of humanity. What would happen if we could approach death with respect, ritual and love for the guaranteed journey in which we all are destined to embark on, enabling new modalities of healing our hearts and feeling our feelings associated with the continued connection to those we love? 

Finally, from a business perspective, Millennials are set to see the largest transfer of wealth in human history associated with the passing of the Baby Boomer generation. This facility will appeal to those still living with a sense of place, deep connection, purpose and aesthetic proclivities, appealing and comforting during this time of certain transition. 

Apart from the already appealing aesthetics, wellness support, sustainability and human connection - we also will offer one of the most inclusive death management offerings on the market by way of being able to price our services at much more accessible rates than the typical funeral home burial route, being that we are a singular stop for paperwork, processing, burial, celebration and continued psychological support and connection during this highly impactful time of life.  

Execution: Marketing & Sales

Marketing Plan

Perennial will strategically market to Estate + Financial planners via highly targeted SEO strategy; as well as  through engaging with community commerce such as local chambers of commerce. We will engage with and integrate into local environmentalist groups, city government + local community events such as farmer's markets, higher-end art fairs and host events which bring people together to support new lenses in the approach to grieving, celebration and life. 

Further, Perennial will offer highly targeted marketing through social media platforms such as Tik Tok and instagram, to connect to environmentally and socially conscious communities, with this topic highly likely to garner interest due to the multifaceted and nuanced nature to our approach. 

Our online presence will focus on engagement with three main groups of individuals: environmentally and socially conscious Millennials + Gen Z, Environmentalists of all ages and finally, the spiritually conscious community. 

Sales Plan

Mission Statement

Perennial is designed to change humanity's relationship to death, supporting an intentional, conscious psychological shift by providing simultaneously climate-positive and soul-nourishing services, two concepts which are key in collectively healing and moving humanity toward a future in which all beings - and mother earth - reciprocally prosper. 

Target Market + Unique Services Approach

Perennial appeals to the ever-growing community self-identifying as conscious individuals, including Millennials, Gen Z, spiritual communities as well as environmentalists.

This concept also appeals to those who don't have the budget or interest in the standard funeral home experience, which is a far different felt experience than what Perennial provides aesthetically, emotionally, scientifically and psychologically, as desired.  

By providing supportive, simplifying technology to aid in the tedious and unsatisfying process of paperwork, we are already providing a more positive experience to grieving.

Next, by providing a heartfelt, empathetic process by way of our Transition Support Services, we help to open people's minds and hearts to the possibilities of what can be experienced during the process of passing; changing the lens of how we view death and the associated possibilities for supportive, transformational grieving.  

Business Development + Prospecting Strategy

We aren't really in the business of sales, we are in the business of human connection - the business of people. Our people will be multifaceted both in terms of their ability to connect to themselves and by way of their own healing journeys, will be able to see, support and connect with our clientele in ways that transcend a typical business transaction and support people from - and within, the heart.  

Our business development approach is both B2B and B2C, including connecting with climate justice advocacy groups. Our prospecting strategy involves establishing relationships with all levels of the end of life planning journey, including: estate planners, financial planners, environmentalist groups, community organizations, death doulas + through presence within community and spiritually focused events. 

Operations

Locations & Facilities

Perennial begins its operations with a single location spanning a minimum of 5-10 acres. The ideal location for our Circular Celebration of Life Facility features a combination of wooded areas, open fields, and ample space between trees. Our main facility will occupy around 5,000 square feet, while two operational buildings, each ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet, will be strategically positioned within the woods, blending seamlessly with the natural environment.

At Perennial, we prioritize green burial and the natural organic reduction (NOR) process, which efficiently transforms us back to the earth. This process typically takes approximately 6 months to complete, so mapping and optimized use of the land is essential. 

Within the premises, there will be a dedicated 1/2 acre reserved for a walking remembrance path where families can sprinkle the soil of their loved ones near a tree or a piece of art. This serene space will be open for Perennial guests to visit from 7 am to 7 pm, allowing them to pay tribute to their loved ones in spirit while appreciating the beauty of the land.

Additionally, 2.5 acres of the land will be allocated for NOR practices and will be considered the "Back of House" operations area in terms of public visibility. This section will house the green burials, as well as the state-of-the-art RECOMPOSE and Aquamation facilities and equipment. While aesthetically pleasing and client-facing, these facilities will be completely separate from the main celebration of life facility.

The remaining 2 acres will be designated for the primary Celebration of Life facility, ideally situated on a hill overlooking expansive vegetable and flower gardens, biodiversity hubs, monarch waystations, and wildflower preserves. An ideal addition to this landscape would be a water feature such as a river.

This facility is located in the Midwest, within an hour's reach of numerous urban areas. The Millennial and Gen Z generations in these regions will have awareness of the facility by way of social media including instagram, tik tok and live event engagement, enabling them to plan visits accordingly.

Technology

Within Perennial's landscape, there are several exciting opportunities for technology to play a crucial role.

First and foremost, we recognize the potential of "death tech" in simplifying the paperwork associated with the passing of a loved one. This streamlining process can greatly ease the burden on our clients during their difficult time. To achieve this, we intend to forge partnerships with established death tech providers. By collaborating with these providers, we can offer our clients the convenience of processing their paperwork from the comfort of their own homes.

We have identified a few potential partners in this field, including Wellthy, CAKE, Trust & Will, and Everdays. These organizations have developed technologies that can significantly simplify the paperwork process associated with death, streamlining it for our clients.

Another area of technological advancement we are exploring is the process of decomposition into the soil and aquamation as alternatives to traditional cremation.

One notable advancement in this field is the innovative technique developed by Katrina Spade of RECOMPOSE. This method involves encasing human remains in a mixture of wood chips, straw, and alfalfa, which accelerates the decomposition process through the action of thermophilic microbes. As a result, the transformation can occur in as little as 1-2 months, compared to the conventional 5-7 months required by traditional soil decomposition methods. It is worth mentioning that this rapid decomposition technique draws inspiration from established methods used in composting livestock.

RECOMPOSE offers licensing opportunities for those interested in implementing this groundbreaking technology. The details of the costs and licensing arrangements we are currently awaiting, as we have a meeting scheduled in September of 2024. 

In addition to decomposition methods, another environmentally friendly technology gaining attention is aquamation. This process involves the use of alkaline water to cremate the body, offering a more eco-friendly alternative to traditional cremation practices. The pricing for aquamation equipment is something we would consider after our initial opening and revenue generation, and we believe that incorporating this technology will significantly enhance our offerings to environmentally conscious individuals, as it is most aligned with cremation, the current most accepted, yet least environmentally friendly, death management modality. 

Equipment & Tools

We are gathering pricing from technology partners + physical RECOMPOSE licensing, as well. 

Key Metrics

As a startup, Perennial will track several key metrics to measure our progress and success in the execution of our Circular Celebration of Life Facility. These metrics are categorized into three main areas: end-of-life services, celebration of life services, and marketing.

For our end-of-life services, we have set specific goals to track our performance:

• Number of pre-booked end-of-life services: Our target is to have 100 pre-booked services within the first year, each requiring a $2,500 down payment. This will result in a total of $250,000 generated in pre-paid services. Out of this amount, $200,000 will be held in escrow for the execution of these services, while $150,000 will be allocated towards operating costs. 

• Key Metric: Target 10 Pre-bookings per month to achieve this milestone

• New client bookings per month: Our objective is to secure an average of 10 new clients per month in the first year, each paying the price of $7,000 for our services. This will generate a monthly revenue of $70,000 and an annual revenue of $840,000. 

• Key Metric: Connect to Estate Planners, Lawyers and local city officials for visibility and understanding: Managing 10 End-Of-Life Services per month achieve this milestone; this cannot be pre-planned so is largely based in key relationships. 

In terms of celebration of life services, we have outlined the following bookings, based on 10 End of Life Services per month:

• Three monthly Celebration of Life Experiences that generate $1,500 in revenue.

• Three monthly Celebration of Life Experiences that generate $3,500 in revenue.

• Two monthly Celebration of Life Experiences that generate $5,000 in revenue.

• Total Celebration of Life Experiences generating $25,000 per month, for a total of $300,000 annually

Under the marketing category, we will track the following metrics:

• Monthly events hosted: Perennial will organize and offer onsite, virtual and public events and consciousness focused retreats each month with the aim of raising consciousness, coming together in community and de-stigmatizing death. Our goal is to successfully host at least 2 events per month. 

• Key Metric: Engage with 100 new people per month, whether through onsite or virtual events

• Monthly sponsorships: We will actively participate in local sustainability-focused events, such as farmer's markets and other community-centered gatherings. These sponsorships will demonstrate our engagement and support within the local community. 

• Key Metric: Participate in 2 Key Community Events per month, map out the year's potential events and prioritize by ROI potential

• Employ proactive rather than reactive event strategy. 

Tracking these key metrics will allow us to closely monitor our growth, engagement levels, and progress towards normalizing end-of-life planning as well as healthy revenue generation. With this information, we will be able to make necessary adjustments to our strategy as we continue to advance our mission.

Company: Overview

Perennial intends to operate as a Benefit Limited Liability Company (BLLC ) with an Employee Ownership Trust with Marley Finnegan serving as the lead managing member, leveraging her profound expertise in sustainable hospitality and human connection. Marley's leadership will shape the trajectory of Perennial, ensuring its success and growth. Further, there is consideration to create this as a Perpetual Purpose Trust, similar to Patagonia, enabling earth-conscious management to be the guiding compass for organizational outcomes.

The BLLC structure offers several benefits, including pass-through taxation and personal liability protection, which are advantageous to the owner. Perennial intends to connect with co-founders and create a collective ownership model, which will serve as an example for beneficial, equitable ownership while also providing open-source education to other prospective leaders who wish to formulate a similar climate-conscious end-of-life facility which incorporates the same values, structure and mission. Collaborative ownership will allow for multi-faceted talent to coincide in ways which can support the initial stages of designing and building this business based on inclusive, conscious ownership.

Marley's extensive two-decade experience in sustainable hospitality, coupled with her innate ability to foster human connection and introspective healing, provides a strong foundation for Perennial's mission and offerings. Her insights, gained from over 260+ hours worth of Regenerative, Innovative Next Economy Systems design and launching two startups, PURPOSE Sustainability Strategy and climate tech solution PURPOSE Net Zero, showcase her resilience and vision. 

Further, her own transformational spiritual awakening, which has guided her own inner journey and connection to psychic mediumship, garnered her unique perspective on the importance of de-stigmatizing death and facilitating a seamless ritualization which is in service to the beautiful transition which lies between this world and the next.

In her role as Founder and lead facilitator of Perennial, Marley will oversee the mission as well as the sales and marketing strategy, as well as provide empathetic consultations on end-of-life matters and circular celebrations of life services.

Further, Operational Business Leaders with robust experience in both physical and new business operations will be key assets to this leadership team. Marley believes that a COO and Indigenous Leaders as co-founders will be welcome and essential additions to support the launch of Perennial in right relationship with earth, the water and her rhythms.

Team

Management Team

Leading the sales, empathetic end-of-life, and circular celebration of life services at Perennial is Marley Finnegan. Marley will also oversee the eventual buildout of the team responsible for managing and supporting these essential aspects of the business.

Ensuring efficient operations at Perennial is COO (TO BE DETERMINED), a seasoned veteran in the (TO BE DETERMINED) industry. 

Responsible for marketing efforts, including social media, online, onsite, and offsite activations, is (TO BE DETERMINED)

Lead for somatic experiencing, circular celebration of life planning and support is (TO BE DETERMINED)

Beth Winter, an experienced small business consultant and analyst will bring valuable financial expertise.

As Perennial continues to expand, Marley plans to establish a dedicated co-founder leadership team to support the handling of day-to-day operations, allowing her to focus on providing overall guidance, authentic, heart-led sales strategy and vision as the managing member, including expansion to new markets and the eventual franchising of the model. 

Furthermore, Marley intends to incorporate a board that will provide additional consultation on the company's trajectory. Perennial also has plans to expand its offerings to other major markets by way of franchising the model. 

Advisors

Perennial has identified an advisory board of experts across various fields to provide guidance as we build our circular celebration of life facility.

This group offers a wealth of experience across healthcare, environmental sustainability, regeneration practices, climate solutions, city operations and successful entrepreneurship. As we build out our circular celebration of life facility, their guidance will be invaluable in creating a business that benefits our community while honoring both life and death.