We caught up with the winners of the Family Business of the Year; Coles Funeral Directors to find out about more about their future plans and how they have managed during the pandemic. The award was kindly sponsored by the Development Bank of Wales
1. Why did you enter the Cardiff Business Awards?
As a local, family-run business, the community is at the heart of everything that we do and ultimately, their opinion is what means the most to us. Without their support, where would we be? After over a decade of operations in Cardiff, we decided to enter the Family Run Business category as we wanted to promote the work that we do not as a funeral director, but the additional services that we offer at our Bereavement Hub and as part of our Education Programme.
2. What does winning a Cardiff Business Award mean to your business?
It means a lot to us as it is such a personal accolade. Like I said previously, we’ve been in business in Cardiff for over a decade and family values are at the core of our business. We were up against some tough competition in this category, but we are incredibly grateful to be crowned the winners for the work we do in our local community.
3. How do you strive to make a difference in the Cardiff Business market?
There are a lot of conglomerate funeral directors now operating across Cardiff and instead of following a similar structure, we wanted to bring something completely different to the market. For us, we talk a lot around normalising conversations around death and dying, celebrating life and accessing the support you need when you are going through the grieving process. Our service is all about going above and beyond what is expected from a funeral director and instead, providing that personal support at such a pivotal time in our customers’ lives. We always say that no detail is too small, and we work with suppliers across Cardiff and beyond that share that ethos.
4. What are your goals for the next 12 months?
We have big plans for the next 12 months which will all be revealed very soon! But in short, we want to continue to grow our business, create more job opportunities in our local area, launch a digital version of our Education Programme and ultimately, continue to support our community.
5. What is the biggest lesson you have learned in the past year as a company?
I think we can all agree from the year we’ve just experienced that nothing is ever certain. Instead, we have to be grateful for what we have, help each other where we can and remember to be kind. Our team spent a lot of time in the community helping with everything from shopping supplies, checking in on those living alone and offering over-the-phone 1-2-1 counselling sessions for those who needed the support. And from a practicality point of view, I believe we’ve all learnt that no business can ever afford to stand still. We need to adapt with the times to meet our customers’ needs and we fully believe we delivered on that over the last 12 months and beyond.
6. What one piece of advice would you give to any aspiring business owner?
Know your values, outline your company mission and keep working with those in mind every single day – and make sure your team are aware of them too! Our business didn’t become what it is today overnight – our family put in a lot of time and effort to make something that we hope truly adds value to our community. And we are very lucky to have an incredible team of compassionate and dedicated individuals working alongside us.
7. What did you think of the virtual awards ceremony?
Nothing can replace a physical face-to-face get together where you can have a natter over food and drinks! But it was lovely to see all of the other finalists and winners in one place and meet some of the incredible business owners from across Cardiff. It was fabulous to see the ceremony streamed live too – all of our family and team were tuned in eagerly awaiting the results!
