Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sherèe Browne. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sherèe Browne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
When the Pandemic first hit and the world shut down, the financial planning and literacy business I was in the process of building quickly came to a halt. I have known since a young age that my life’s purpose was to be of service to others, and I really believed that was my path. I have always been determined to find my true purpose in life, although I knew it centered around helping people. For over a year I had studied to acquire multiple insurance and financial licenses while bartending full-time at night. I set out to build this practice and target under-served and over-looked communities and industries while teaching them about finances and how to have a better relationship with their money, so they could live more empowered lives while better preparing for the future.
I think when the lockdown first started, many of us thought that we would go into our homes for two weeks, the dust would settle, and we would all go back to our “normal” lives. About four weeks into the pandemic I finally accepted that was not the case, and my financial business was likely not my true calling. During that time, I had started to get really in touch with my spiritual side. I have always been somewhat spiritual and “tuned in” but it wasn’t until I was forced to quit working and had true downtime that I was able to really take a deep look into myself and my beliefs. As someone who has been on my own since fifteen, and a hustler always, slowing down and not working was so foreign to me, uncomfortable to say the least.
One night about a month into the pandemic, while dancing around my house to Siouxsie and the Banshees at 2 am the words “Death Doula” felt like they were whispered into my ear. I’m not completely sure how to describe it but suddenly this term was magically there and at that moment I got chills all over my entire body, I dropped to my knees and began to cry. It was a completely visceral experience and I knew instantly that my true calling and life’s purpose was death work. It was during this period of self-reflection that the concept of becoming a death doula crystallized for me.
Shortly after that, I started taking death doula certification classes, and soon after that, I met my now business partner, Emily.
She was in the process of building out Be a Tree Cremation, a Water Cremation facility that is an eco-alternative to traditional flame cremation. I have personally lived a sustainable lifestyle for years and I was fascinated by what Emily was creating.
In January of 2021, Emily asked me to meet for coffee and she proposed to me that I design and implement the Pre-Planning program at Be a Tree. At that point, I had no clue that anyone pre-planned or pre-funded their end-of-life experience yet I happened to have all the exact financial licenses and experience I needed in order to acquire a Certificate of Authority from the State of Colorado as well as establish the insurance agencies I would use to fund my pre plans. It seemed as though my path was leading me to my true purpose all along, I just hadn’t realized it.
That week I took the first risk, officially closed my financial business, and dove head first into building the pre-planning program for Be a Tree Cremation, in an industry I had never worked in, pursuing a career I knew little about.
As someone who had never been a big fan of small talk and had a natural talent for getting people to open up and talk about deep, meaningful topics I felt excited about this journey.
Starting a business is always risky, but starting a business, doing something that is non-traditional and mostly unheard of in an industry that is seemingly stuck in its ways, can feel extremely risky. Let’s be real, most people avoid the topic of death and dying altogether, so addressing our mortality in a way that makes us feel empowered and informed while also choosing an alternative, sustainable end-of-life method is often a big ask of people. Not only do you have to get them comfortable with the concept of Water Cremation itself, but you also have to get them to be willing to talk about their own inevitable demise.
I was determined to create a program with safe and secure plans that also offered a lot of flexibility to people so their plans could evolve with them over time. I was on a mission to get younger people to talk about death and dying sooner, so they could live more fulfilling lives outside their comfort zones. I worked with a consulting firm as I built and grew my program and spoke freely about my goals to get younger people to plan sooner, and not wait until it is too late.
They half-heartedly encouraged me while pointing out that the average pre-planning age in the US is 74, but my dreams were cute and supported if that was part of my driving force. It was pretty obvious they didn’t fully believe in my approach and likely blamed it on my lack of experience in the industry. They would tell me to do A,B,C with my program, and I turned around and did X,Y,Z. I was determined to ditch the old ways of using fear-based tactics, shame, and pressure to get people to plan and instead educate them, create lasting relationships, and change the way pre-planning is done.
After my first year of planning my average pre planning age was 62, and I had planned for people as young as 19 and up to 90, and I continue to do so.
Disrupting an industry is risky, especially one that is so deeply embedded in tradition and is based on a topic that is so easy to avoid.
Starting your own business is always risky while chasing your dreams and life purpose is often even riskier. However, the reward of connecting with people on such a deep level, while helping them find some semblance of peace around their mortality, and being of service always, is by far the most rewarding thing I have ever done.
Today, I am lucky to have planned for over 300 people, many of whom I consider friends. Many people come to me with fear and apprehension, only to be surprised that they actually enjoy the planning process. Most are surprised that they are laughing and having fun, especially since it’s something they put off for many years, convinced it would be a miserable and tough experience.
You never know what life has in store for you, but not taking risks or chasing your dreams is the biggest risk to me. The only way for me to live my true purpose is to do the things that scare me and embrace the uncertainty of what lies ahead with an open heart and desire to serve.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Be a Tree Cremation is a Water Cremation (Alkaline Hydrolysis) facility that uses 90% less energy than traditional flame cremation. It’s a gentler process that allows us to return people to the Earth mindfully, enabling them to live on through nature. Our process mimics natural decomposition in an accelerated manner, breaking soft tissue down to its most basic building blocks. The nutrient-dense liquid that remains, which we call Tree Tea, is returned to the Earth, nourishing the land and giving people an opportunity to live on through the native landscape. The remaining solid remains can be returned to the family in an urn or transformed into stones by our partners at Parting Stone.
As stewards of Mother Nature, we strive to serve our community and give back. We are woman-owned and operated, and we believe our work is sacred—work we are all called to for deeply meaningful reasons. We offer water cremation services, ceremonies, celebrations of life, scattering services, educational tours and workshops, grief resources, comprehensive pre-planning services, and more.
We believe in transparency, not only with our operations and pricing but also with our intent. We create a softer landing around the topic of death and dying while not shying away from it. Death is a natural and essential part of life, and we choose to embrace it while educating and empowering the community we serve. We believe we are setting the standards for what water cremation should look like, not only in Colorado but in the United States.
I am a service-driven individual living my life’s purpose through this work. I was originally called to death work in 2020 during the pandemic and knew instantly that this was my true calling in life. I consider myself an educator first and foremost. We are industry disruptors, in the best way. We create a different approach to death and dying and build meaningful relationships with the families we work with, whether you’ve just lost a loved one or are planning for your own end-of-life experience.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
First and foremost, we always show up from a place of service. Our integrity is everything to us. Remaining transparent and continuously forthcoming with information is important to us, especially in an industry where you are often expected to read between the lines, examine the fine print, and know the right questions to ask as a client. People often come to us during the most difficult time in their lives, after they have lost a loved one. A time when you are not thinking clearly and being fully present isn’t even possible. Often people are preyed upon and talked into spending money they aren’t comfortable with, using their lack of knowledge and emotional vulnerability against them. We choose to take the opposite approach and support and educate them while building genuine relationships. We are honored to be a part of the positive changes we see happening within the funeral industry, alongside some other really incredible companies that are taking a similar approach.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
We like to keep continuous, open lines of communication with the families we serve, the people I plan for, and our community. We have a newsletter containing valuable information, business updates, events, and helpful resources. Our aftercare program for all of the families we work with allows us to check in and remind them we are still here to support them, even after our services have been completed. We send out cards for Birthdays and Anniversaries as well. We created a Hospice outreach program where we make bouquets every other month and bring them to local hospice facilities for the staff to gift to patients, and the months we don’t bring flowers, we bring treats for the staff. We host educational events as well as tours for hospice employees and other death workers, and a monthly Open House for anyone interested in coming by to meet us and learn more about what we do while seeing our facility firsthand. We have a great social media following and we post regularly to ensure our followers remain in the know.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beatreecremation.com
- Instagram: @beatreecremation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beatreecremation
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beatreecremation
Image Credits
Jason Natzke