Stone in America 1988
by T.S. Stone
Mark Fontana's zest for challenge and adventure comes across like gangbusters when he is probed for business secrets. As owner of V. Fontana & Company since 1980, when his father--himself a fifth-generation stonecutter--retired, Mark has successfully diversified from selling only monuments to producing a wide range of commercial work.In fact, although Fontana's monument business remains strong and steady, its percentage of the business continues to decline. Years ago, memorials made up nearly a hundred percent of sales, yet in 1986 they composed only about 70 percent of business. Today, monuments account for just 50 percent--maybe even less. And Fontana definitely is pleased.What are his trade secrets? "We're very creative," he began thoughtfully. "And we're not afraid to do something that nobody has done before. When I first got into commercial work and had to learn the right way to handle veneer, it was hit and miss because no one would show me. Sure, we lost money on those jobs because veneer is very different from granite.
But you have to be patient and expect mistakes, and learn from them as you go along."Still, before retailers take the plunge into diversification, Fontana cautions them to look at their bottom line closely to be sure initial learning mistakes can be absorbed."Doing commercial work in the granite industry is completely different from doing memorial," he explained. "Even the granite you buy is different. Everything is different about it. But if you have a good business in the memorial trade, you can afford to go out there and try commercial. Anybody can do it!"Fontana is the third generation to serve as head of V. Fontana and Company in Colma, Calif., which appropriately is renowned as the "City of Cemeteries." About 50 years ago, San Francisco passed an ordinance requiring that about 145,000 bodies be exhumed and relocated to Colma, a town some 15 miles to the south. Much of Colma's land has been set aside for another 450 years to keep the bodies from being disturbed again. Yet, despite Colma's fame for 13 diverse cemeteries,
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