Executive Suite: John Vigliante, Smithtown

John Vigliante's great-grandfather, an Italian immigrant, started a funeral home in Brooklyn in 1900.

Vigliante's father, Henry, bought The Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown in 1974. He is still involved in the business, but John, 33, is now the manager.

Vigliante is involved with several community groups and is an usher at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Smithtown. He is one of six children.

Did all your siblings help with the business?"My father's motto was, give us all education, and everybody decides what their niche was after you're done with that. He didn't want to push anyone into the business if they didn't want it. Growing up, everybody worked [in the business], whatever it may have been - small jobs here, small jobs there. That's how they decided if it was for them or not."

What do you remember about the first time you were somebody's boss?At the age of 22, he was managing another funeral home. "It was difficult in the beginning. I was learning on the way."

As a young manager, he says he soon realized, "You need to do it yourself. I showed them I would actually do it, that's how I got my respect." He did everything, from "embalming, taking out the garbage - going to get the car washed."

Has the recession had any impact on business?

"Yes. The recession has had an impact on the length of services - people are looking to cut back - the merchandise selected. Just like every business."

The funeral home encourages people to plan in advance. "Especially in more difficult, trying times with the economy, we give people up to five years on a preplanned funeral to pay it off."

What are your plans for growth?

With his brother recently joining the business, plans to expand to a second location are moving forward.

"A lot of families from Smithtown have moved out to Miller Place - a 55-and-older retirement community out there. A lot of people we know went out there. We would be the only family-owned funeral home in that region of Miller Place. All of the other funeral homes are corporately owned public companies."

What qualities do you look for when you're hiring?

"We're looking for somebody that isn't the type [of] person that will be watching the clock. There's no timetable for when we get busy. When I am hiring, I let them know that there are times when you're going to be here 10 hours, maybe, because somebody needs our help in time of loss. You can't be looking to run out the door. . . . Also, they need to have compassion."

However, he says there's a difference between "empathy" and "sympathy." Employees need to care, "but they can't be feeling the loss with the family."

Corporate snapshot

NAME: John Vigliante

TITLE: Co-owner, manager

COMPANY: The Branch Funeral Home

<BUSINESS: Funeral home

LOCATION: Smithtown

TYPE: Private company

REVENUE: $1 million to $2 million annually

EMPLOYEES: 5 full-time, 25 part-time