Why Smart Japanese Companies Last 100+ Years

Imagine about 90% of all businesses worldwide that 100+ years are Japanese.

Shinise- Is is the Japanese word for a long-lasting company.

Let me walk you through two examples.

1. Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

It's the oldest existing hotel in the world 1300 years old. What! Founded in 705 AD. The hotel serves simple, seasoned food locally sourced from the mountains and rivers around.

The 35 rooms hotel open 27/7 to serve guests who also enjoy their six natural alkaline water baths.

Besides the water baths, there are no other attractions nearby. No wi-fi, no ride-sharing, nothing fancy yet it has been around long before our great, great grandparents.

Its guest includes emperors, politicians, samurai, and military commanders.

No major change, no expansion, no new meals. The hotel has stayed focused on the customer, not growth.

2. Kongo Gumi

Another construction company that has been around for 1428 years making Buddhist temples.

They have build temples all over the world for the last 14+ centuries.

However in the 1980s due to the epic financial bubble and unconstrained credit growth in Japan. Kongo Gumi diversified to real estate building.

The reward was good, fast-growth but short-lived. They started borrowing to match the growing real estate market.

They had to expand, take multiple projects, hire more. The financial bubble had made borrowing easy and debt was like a drug- everyone was on it.

To cut the story short- in 1990 Kongo Gumi went down with close to $343 million in debts.

Key takeaways

-Make your business better, not bigger
-Question external funding
-Your business doesn't need to scale to succeed.

• Existing customers are better than new ones.

There you have it.

Make your business like the famous hotel California- You can check anytime, but you can never leave.