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#1
June 14, 2011, 02:42 AM
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How old is the oldest still-running business in the world?
100 years?
200 years? The answer might surprise you! The answer is... the oldest (known) still-running business in the world is... 1,306 years old (that's one thousand, three hundred and six years old)! I thought I'd write that out, in case you thought I made a typo! It's the Keiunkan hotel in Japan, which was started in the year 705, and is still running today! Here's a recent article about it (with a photo) - unfortunately, the hotel is currently suffering from the effects of the Japanese earthquake (which has driven away tourists to Japan for the time being)... http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105270205.html Hopefully it can survive and keep going at least another 1,306 more years...! How about in Europe? Apparently, the oldest still-running business in Europe is a restaurant, in Austria. It's been serving meals now for an unbelievable 1,208 years! The Stiftskeller St. Peter restaurant was started in the year 803... While it no longer serves the 9th century menu, they are still old-fashioned, as their current menu is based on food of the 17th and 18th century... You can read more about it here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiftskeller_St._Peter http://www.stpeter-stiftskeller.at/index.php?id=7&L=1  (Above: At the Stiftskeller St. Peter, you can party like it's 1799!) What about in the UK? I'm not sure if this is definitive, but the Angel & Royal Hotel in Lincolnshire, England, dates back to 1203 (that's 808 years)! More info is available here... http://www.angelandroyal.co.uk/pages/history.php How about in the USA? Seaside Inn & Cottages in the state of Maine have been running since 1667 - that's 344 years! If you want to stay there, their website is here... http://www.theseasidecottages.com Puritan dress optional!  (Above: some happy guests at Seaside Inn & Cottages! ...Just kidding!  )How about in Canada? Well, the oldest company in Canada has been running since 1670 (that's 341 years)! It started out in the fur trade, but as the fur trade died out around 100 years ago, it expanded its operations and is still going strong today... The company is the Hudson's Bay Company. Nowadays, they own a bunch of Canadian retail chains, such as The Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters, and Fields. You can read more about them here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company If you want to see other old but still running companies, check out this list... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies Where will your business be in 1,306 years?  Best wishes! Dien Last edited by Dien Rice : June 14, 2011 at 08:55 AM. 
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#2
June 14, 2011, 11:15 PM
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Re: How old is the oldest still-running business in the world?
Dien,
Great subject... Could make for some very interesting {Discussion(s)} regarding a few other Particular businesses, industries and Ideas throughout All those years... “We’re entrepreneurs; we’re in a business for ourselves,” Brooke Taylor said in a recent New York Times article describing those who work in the world’s Oldest profession... http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/03/en...rofession.html Phil
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#3
June 15, 2011, 12:01 AM
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Building your business on an "idea" rather than a "product"...
Quote:
Interesting article on those in the "world's oldest profession!" Talking about the world's oldest still running companies... I wonder who's the oldest still-working person in the world's oldest profession...? ...Ergh, maybe that's not such a great topic! Along these lines, here's an article that actually sparked my interest in this topic... Which of today’s technology giants might still be standing tall a century after their founding? The essence of this article is that, if your business is based around an idea (which can "transcend" technology), then it could be longer-lived than a business based solely on a product... IBM was started almost exactly 100 years ago - on June 16, 1911. How did a technology company survive so long? According to the article... 'IBM’s secret is that it is built around an idea that transcends any particular product or technology. Its strategy is to package technology for use by businesses. At first this meant making punch-card tabulators, but IBM moved on to magnetic-tape systems, mainframes, PCs, and most recently services and consulting. Building a company around an idea, rather than a specific technology, makes it easier to adapt when industry “platform shifts” occur.' Apple - which is now 35 years old - is also based on an idea. According to the article... '...It has a powerful organising idea: take the latest technology, package it in a simple, elegant form and sell it at a premium price. Apple has done this with personal computers, music players, smartphones and tablet computers, and is now moving into cloud-based services. Each time it has grabbed an existing technology and produced an easier-to-use and prettier version than anyone else. This approach can be applied to whatever technology is flavour of the month: Apple has already shifted from PCs to mobile devices.' In contrast, Microsoft is NOT based on an idea that transcends technology, according to the article... 'Microsoft (1975) is hugely dependent on Windows, which is its answer to everything. But software for a PC may not be the best choice to run inside a phone or a car.' Anyway, it's a fascinating concept... I'm still "digesting" the idea, as it's easy to understand - but how do you apply it to your own business? It requires some thought... - Dien (still chewing things over)
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#4
June 15, 2011, 04:02 AM
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Re: Building your business on an "idea" rather than a "product"...
Quote:
Flexibility is a great concept - from several points of view - perhaps that's part of the answer.Margaret
__________________
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#5
June 15, 2011, 05:56 AM
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Re: Building your business on an "idea" rather than a "product"...
Dien,
I'd have to agree, as far as we know, the world's Oldest still running companies, ''Slightly'' lives-out the Oldest still-working person in the world's Oldest profession(s)... Then again, with [Technology] these days constantly Growing in Leaps and Bounds... I'm predicting misc. Keywords and business ideas related to the Following will be even Much more Popular in Tomorrow's Future world of Never-ending Growing economies and ideas... http://www.google.com/search?q=reinc...N&hl=en&tab=wn Yes! ... Definitely start [Carving] out & into nice little Niche segmentations within Reincarnation related industries... Approx. #2 in Google out of About 17,800,000 results! ... The Reincarnation Station. Generally speaking, what type of person do you .... Almost 39% of people will be reincarnated as a Higher form of Life than you. ... http://www.reincarnationstation.com/ Regarding, Building your business on an "idea" rather than a "product"... Reminds me of an ''Awesome'' article I've posted about in other misc. past threads... That can be [Easily] applied and Mixed into Numerous related business models, with the Right {twist} of course... Into today's Web shaped World... Brands and Ideas aren't just about People & Companies anymore... But tens of thousands of Crazy names (Domaining), Ideas, business models and All kinds of Weird profitable Revenue generating Goldmines! ... Reincarnation Hotsheets! ... The Brand Called You By: Tom PetersAugust 31, 1997 http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5175 Phil Last edited by Phil : June 15, 2011 at 06:06 AM. Reason: additional info...
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