Meet Lawrence Suarez: Allay Cremation Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lawrence Suarez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lawrence, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process and motivation started at my last job in the corporate world. I worked at a well-known cemetery/funeral home for 8 and a half years, but the last 4 years I started to feel like I was looking up at “glass ceiling”. In other words, I was stuck. I worked hard at every position and built great relationships, but it was either someone I trained would get promoted or, as someone once said to me,”Although you’ve done this longer, I’m older than you.” My experience started as a receptionist and I worked my way up through the company with high hopes of being where everyone wanted to be, a memorial counselor. I remember throughout my time at the funeral home I always said to my coworkers,”We should just start a funeral home. We can do all of this.” Little did I know, I was manifesting. Before I even knew what “manifestation” was, before the instagram motivational meme’s, I was manifesting. Once I realized the company I worked for was just another corporate ladder that was dictating my future, it was time to go. It was by far the hardest decision I had to make. Leaving a job that offered benefits and a steady paycheck, but feeling zero value where I planned to retire was not worth it. When I left, people thought I was crazy. People criticized. Little did people know, I left to start my first business that only lasted 6 months. Afterwards, I temporarily found a job at a cremation company. During my time there I noticed customers were spending thousands of dollars on services that another company was charging a lot less for. This sparked my curiosity and it did not sit well with me to meet with families who could barely afford our services. I started to do my research, some said it would take thousands of dollars to even start and it wasn’t wise to go against the bigger corporations, but what did I have to lose? 2 years later, I started an affordable cremation company with a business partner, helped grow that and left a year later to start my own cremation company.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I started an affordable direct cremation company that is focused around a simple arrangement process and quality service. During one of the most difficult times someone will ever have to deal with it, traditionally the arrangement process consisted of endless amounts of paperwork and a difficult arrangement process. What truly sets us apart from our competitors is our service and our knowledge. We noticed a lot of our competitors were tech companies that lacked the experience and service aspect of an arrangement. The difficulties I faced when starting Allay was looking for the right vendors. Unfortunately, there isn’t a how-to guide to start a funeral home. I continue to battle companies who have more capital, but I believe with consistency, persistence, hard work, and patience, I will outlast them. I’ve learned a lot of lessons and continue to learn everyday. The most important being patient. There will be good months and there will be down months, but as long as I stay the course and be patient, everything will work itself out. I want the world to know that there are funeral homes who are genuine and truly care. I want people to know we are real people that are here to help. The funeral industry has been criticized for being sales driven and where customer service is needed most, many have lacked. Allay is here to prove that quality service and affordability can coexist.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m a big foodie and I love being outdoors. Whether in the city or on a hike, Los Angeles has everything to offer. I would start the day with a hike, there are so many trails within LA county. Afterwards, we’ll grab coffee at a local coffee shop. I love finding hole-in-a-wall coffee shops with cool ambiance. One in particular is La Colombe in frogtown. Brunch is big in LA. I’d go to somewhere in the Silverlake area or grand central market in downtown. After lunch, check out another coffee joint. If you can’t tell, I’m big on coffee. Maybe we’ll hit the westside of town, the beach cities or go to a brewery. So many cool breweries in Los Angeles. Maybe even make it a brewery tour for the rest of the day.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As cliche as it sounds, shoutout to my family (Mom, Dad, Earv, Ate Bia (Ace/Brandon), Ma Chon, and Melinda). Though my parents had their reservations and were against me taking this leap, I know they just wanted whats best for me. Thank you to my friends who supported every business idea I had or started. Last, but not least, thank you to my previous employer for giving me the training and the drive that got me to where I am at today.

Website: www.allaycremation.com
Instagram: @lawsuar
Facebook: @allaycremation
Yelp: Allay Direct Cremation

Image Credits
Kenneth Malate