LEARNING CURVE | Compassion and caring in a time of need

Mosaic Funeral Home’s Maja du Plessis and her team approach every family’s loss with sensitivity and respect

Maja du Plessis of Mosaic Funeral Home Port Elizabeth, which opened in Gqeberha a year ago
DIGNITY IN DEATH: Maja du Plessis of Mosaic Funeral Home Port Elizabeth, which opened in Gqeberha a year ago
Image: SALVELIO MEYER

As a young child, Maja du Plessis was fascinated by life and death.

“Everyone else wanted to be teachers and air hostesses, but I wanted to work in a morgue,” she said.

But life happened and Du Plessis did “everything else except work in a morgue”, including teaching and working abroad.

Then, years later, the opportunity to open a funeral home with a mortuary presented itself, and she knew it was meant to be.

“To have the privilege to be part of and share in someone’s last and final memory gives my life purpose and meaning,” she said.

What is the name of your business and where is it based?

Mosaic Funeral Home Port Elizabeth is based at 109 Albert Road, Walmer.

How old is your business?

Mosaic Funerals is a franchise with years of experience. Our branch in Gqeberha opened a year ago and is the first branch in the Eastern Cape.

What is your core service?

Funeral service, cremation service, removal of deceased (24 hours), mortuary facilities, repatriations, registration of death at department of home affairs, preparation facilities, coffining, hearse, long-distance service, grave/crematorium, coffin and church flowers, tombstones, grave set-ups, pre-arranged contract/funeral/cremations, MFG policies, funeral insurance, use of any other policies and assisting with policy cash-outs, flowers, live-streaming and/or memorial videos with QR codes, and any other arrangements or requests the family requires.

What makes your business unique?

It’s not only our business itself that makes us unique, but the staff at Mosaic Funeral Home Port Elizabeth who have great respect and passion for what they do. A warm, compassionate and professional approach, and having dignity for our families [clients] and the loved one they have lost, is of utmost importance.

We provide client-centred care and services; care that is compassionate and customised to meet the needs of families. Besides the positive and emotional impact we have on those who are left behind, we really try to make a difference in people’s lives and honour the memories they shared.

How did you navigate your business during the pandemic and/or load-shedding?

Our business was not yet open during the pandemic, but trying to navigate starting Mosaic Funeral Home during the pandemic was a long process.

Load-shedding is not a problem because of our exceptional storing facilities that can keep temperatures steady for a long time. If all else fails, we have a generator.

If someone wanted to duplicate your business model, how would they start?

They would need to contact Mosaic head office to buy a franchise. The support and guidance they provide will really make a difference in their business.

What are some of the biggest inhibitors your business faced before getting off the ground?

Starting Mosaic took determination and sacrifice. Financial considerations also had an impact, not only for starting the business but maintaining the business for a while after starting it. Brand awareness and getting people to trust you and the business to be a part of such a huge event in their lives was also a challenge, but the more we grow, the more people realise that we are different and that we care.

Do you have any tips for new business owners?

If you believe in what you do and who you do it with, and you can find meaning in something you spend your life doing, and it has a positive impact not only on yourself but those around you, it cannot fail.

What are some of your biggest challenges in day-to-day operations and in your industry?

Remembering and diarising dates of loved ones left behind, and letting the families know that we are thinking of them on that specific day. We are a small team doing all the collections, arrangements and whatever else we need to do. We always have to make sure we liaise with each other, and communication is key.

What is the best advice anyone gave you on success?

Ask yourself: “Where is the mountain so I can climb it?” One step at a time.

How do you define success in your business?

Having long-term goals and achieving them. It’s how you get to where you want to be and enjoying the journey.

It’s about the progress we make, learning from our mistakes and each other, and feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment in what we have achieved, not only personally but professionally.

Seeing the impact one business or person can have on someone else’s life is so rewarding.

What are some of the best practices that have made your business successful?

Teamwork, compassion and a personal touch in a time of need. Listening to our families and the stories they share, and trying to understand how they feel and who they lost, allows us to successfully make arrangements and give the the service they deserve.

What advertising do you do?

We advertise on Algoa FM, hand out flyers and advertise on social media platforms. We organise shows at retirement villages as a way of bringing joy to the elderly. We go to people’s homes and talk to them about pre-arrange funerals, and what to expect when the time comes. Every service we do is also a testament to our approach, resulting in positive word-of-mouth exposure.

What is your business’s vision?

With every service, family and situation we will guide, inspire and positively impact people in their time of need.

What have some of your highlights been in running your business so far?

Hearing our families talk about their loved ones, their hopes, dreams, joys, passions and what made them unique, teaches us invaluable lessons.

When they share their stories and experiences, we begin to understand who they are and what their lives have been like.

This enables us to help and support them, and be there for them in a difficult time.

How important is social media and an online presence for your business?

It allows us to reach more people and build brand awareness.

It also helps build trust and credibility in communities, and make people realise we are not a “fly by night” and that we know what we are doing.

How many people do you employ?

We are a small team of three. From collection to the service, we guide and assist the family with what they need.

People feel a lot more at ease when they have a “go to” person and don’t need to deal with a lot of different people at an emotional and stressful time.

As a small team it allows us to brainstorm and share ideas that are easier to implement.

Do you have any plans for expanding your business, and how would you go about this?

There are always plans to expand and to better ourselves. One of the benefits of buying into this franchise is that you are allocated an area, and because we are the first branch in the Eastern Cape our area is quite big.

This will allow us to set up arrangement offices in different places, and use the same mortuary in Walmer as it is centralised.

We could also buy branches in another province if the opportunity arose.

How did you acquire funding for the business?

We are a team of four shareholders, which allowed us to accumulate the funds needed.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt from your business journey so far?

Perseverance goes a long way. Be patient, thankful and always remember why you do what you do.

What have been the greatest challenges and advantages of running your business in a city like Nelson Mandela Bay?

Nelson Mandela Bay has been great: people are friendly and so helpful. The only challenge, if I must choose one, is that it is difficult for people to trust a new business they don’t know — especially in a difficult time of bereavement. Entrusting a loved one to a funeral home is scary, and you want to know that they have your best interests at heart and will treat that person with the love and respect that they deserve.

What in your view are the three key traits of a successful entrepreneur?

Passion is really important. We love what we do, and we put in extra hours to support and accommodate our clients at a time convenient to them.

Showing our passion, empathy and desire to make a difference to our clients, and seeing how it affects them positively in a difficult time, helps us maintain the highest standards of integrity and dignity.

The second most important trait in our industry is adaptability and flexibility Every family is different and will have different ways to remember their loved ones.

We must respect people’s ways and make the necessary adjustments to honour their last memories at a pace they are comfortable with.

Self-belief is just as important. To believe in your own and your team’s abilities, and follow the vision of Mosaic Funeral Home Port Elizabeth, fuels our purpose to create a final tribute on behalf of a family that is as unique as the loved one no longer with them.

What are the key traits of a successful employer?

I think the most important trait is authenticity.

If employees know your intentions are real, that you keep your word in both the big and small things, and that you are acting in ways that align with your belief system and your vision for the business, it will lead to greater levels of trust and productivity, and create a positive work environment that will then benefit clients who rely on us.

Lastly, always appreciate, recognise and reward good work.

What do you wish people knew about your industry?

People think working in a mortuary or being an undertaker is strange or odd, but in this profession it’s not always about death, but finding meaning in helping families during life’s most difficult moments, bringing comfort to them at a vulnerable time as well as sharing the memories of someone’s beautiful life.

It’s about caring and advocating for the bodies of the dead, because they can no longer speak for themselves.

That is why it is important to choose the right funeral home to care for your loved ones.

People do not like to talk about death, and don’t always know what to do when it occurs, then have to make decisions under pressure and in a short period of time.

Do your research, and have a plan of what, how and where.

We are always available to guide people so they may make decisions that will honour the memory of a unique life lost.

HeraldLIVE


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