By Isyana Artharini, Famega Syavira Princess | Yahoo News – Tue, May 3, 2011
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| Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno. Foto: Tempo/Mazmur A Sembiring |
One of the richest young entrepreneurs in Indonesia Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno talked about the ups and downs to build a business and opinion on business opportunities that are still open in Indonesia. Met Yahoo! Indonesia in his office in South Jakarta, had tested Sandiaga admitted that he thinks to give up.
Q: What are you busy now?
A: I focus on the Chamber, but this year more into the development business. A lot of my time out at Saratoga, but in Recapital also still occupy the position. Also as a commissioner in some children of business, helping but not day to day, only the big picture and strategy, and monitoring as a shareholder.
Q: You are not selected as one of the richest and youngest person in Indonesia according to Forbes magazine, how does her success story?
A: Starting a business that, almost everyone including me could never have thought that 10 or 14 years will reach this achievement. For me business is survival mode. Really forced because laid-off. There is a crisis in 1997-1998 that forced many companies do layoffs and I am one of them. But it was opening an opportunity in the midst of the crisis.When viewed his portrait now is successful but when viewed historically, a lot of ups and downs. This is what I experienced, the difficulties to build the business is very pronounced in the first years of the first three years.
Q: What’s the biggest change from employee to entrepreneur?
A: As an entrepreneur, we must change the paradigm of an employee who is usually – though give the best – at the end of the month has been secured with all the benefits and salaries that would exist in the current account. It established the nature of employees who do not like taking risks. A businessman has risen and fallen because of the risk management business. We see how raising corporate responsibility and create jobs is not easy. (See also: Secrets of Entrepreneurs Mental Attitude)
In the first years of it – Recapital and Saratoga – I have difficult to establish the business.Difficult to get the trust of clients and investors. There is a long enough period, six months we did not get orders. Until it occurred to us whether the right steps to be an entrepreneur? Is it better suited our mentality so employees?
But with hard work and never give up, thank God. That’s the advice of parents is always, when we are selfless hard work and sincere, good fortune to be approached. That’s what we believe and hold.
Although we initially difficult, the ups and downs, almost a few times can not pay salaries. We live on and thank God now be able to finance the 2 groups, Recapital and Saratoga. We now have a strong foundation and can provide employment to 20 thousand employees.
Q: What is the turning point of the ups and downs when it becomes strong business foundation?
A: The point behind it I think about 4-5 years after the start retracing become entrepreneurs. I see that in fact if we give 100 percent and full comitment to the business results will be good. The customers, clients, customers and investors who trust us to manage our funds and companies who give advice to restructure can give confidence.
Looking at the figure of a young businessman, apparently they do not necessarily assess young entrepreneurs lack the experience. Apparently they will give you confidence that his young entrepreneurs can absorb so much experience, can produce solutions of financial and business problems they face.
Q: Have you thought about giving up?
A: The third year was indeed had thought to continue or resign. When it was hard-hard to see any clients who do not pay the bills, hard to motivate employees. There are a thousand questions in our heads, forward or backward.
That’s where the entrepreneur’s persistence and loyalty is tested. Is he loyal to the goal of becoming an entrepreneur. My goal time was a success and provide greater benefits to approximately to create jobs. If we focus on our goals and loyal, god willing, we will get a turning point in the goal.
Q: When you get fired in 1997, what is the biggest fear at that time?
A: At that time I just had a family. I was thinking how to feed my child. My child at that time only a few months old. I have been accustomed to for 8 years working and receiving a regular income and do not bother to cash purchases. Suddenly I discovered this fact. The world only too well the dark, dark. As there is no solusi.Akhirnya I decided, just survival instinct, back to Indonesia. My parents back home, because my house sold out. I treasure out collateral to the bank to invest in the stock market. It was all my stock collapsed.
I am hopeless, insecure, my friends looked at me the other. In our culture of failure is considered as the end of everything. Whereas in the entrepreneur world, failure is the end of a new chapter. Chapter who will start is where someone can learn from failure and make it as the steps to success.
Q: Who is most deserving in your moment of awakening?
A: Family of course. This moment of awakening if I do not have a wife and parents who provide opportunities and provide support, prayer. I was fortunate to meet my high school friends Rosan (Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, President Director of PT Recapital Advisors) and we started Recapital. I was also fortunate to be met again with Mr. Edwin Suryajaya that I know of 5 years previous. We started to arrange business what I think will be developed. Businesses are not only survival but also the business that will provide livelihood to many people. I am indebted to other than my mother was also in Mr. William Suryajaya that provides intensive mentorship for 2 years, about how employers are not only looking for profit but also be an asset to the nation, I learned a lot about it.
Q: What is the chance of extractive industries in Indonesia is still open?
A: There are still wide open, we just look at the number one exporter of thermal coal in the world, gold is probably number two. Cocoa us number two, number one palm oil, copper is also great potential. All the important mineral resource will be used by industrial products can be found in Indonesia, all of it has not worked. So there is still wide open. But I would like to invite entrepreneurs working in the field of natural resources to see how to capture the value added in Indonesia. In addition to providing more tax, but also gives a greater to the people.
Q: Poverty in Indonesia remains high, how do I fix this?
A: Poverty can only be disolusikan by empowering the people who are still on the bottom of the pyramids, those with incomes below $ 2 a day. How to empower them?By providing opportunities. How to give it a chance? I think the problem is the bottom of the pyramids opportunities. We must be able to present opportunities in the form of access to microfinance. Suddenly my friends at the bottom of the pyramids is a tool to capture these opportunities.
Therefore we call now more than 42 million units of small medium micro enterprises that have been born in Indonesia. 60 percent of gross domestic income donated SMEs, who called the bottom. Well to give microfinance then suddenly all the opportunities present to them. There is the embryo of them gave birth to a venture that could raise their dignity and raise their degrees from the bottom of the pyramids to the middle class.
Q: The key is self-employed?
A: The key entrepreneurship. and this I’ve spoken at colleges, high schools. Think like an entrepreneur. indeed not all people have to be an entrepreneur, but think as an entrepreneur to overcome various problems in our daily lives. How we see the opportunities that continue to exist behind every crisis. How do we face life with full commitment and not easily discouraged. that’s the nature of an entrepreneur.
If you have the ability to present to the mindset that to academics, bureaucrats, government employees, private employees, will be formed culture of entrepreneurship, the innovation nation will rise and the economy at the end will yield the value of a higher growth rate for the nation. Indonesia has only 0.18 percent of the population who become entrepreneurs, I think less than 500 thousand. Our task in 2020 to print at least 5 million entrepreneurs who could fill development and create jobs.
Q: If a community has become an entrepreneur and prosperous, and where the role of government?
A: The government position is not like the time before the crisis, in which there are limited resources, lack of funds. The task of government is to bring the business climate is most conducive in which the permit easier, young children who have an idea in a matter of 3 days to register the idea and start their business or established company.When established companies have made so easily, as well as how to provide the best access to capital to these companies.
Finally the ability of entrepreneurs to innovate, how the human capacity of this business.If these three aspects can be given, the government did not have too much trouble to give a big budget in every business sector. Given enough incentive, enough given the climate that is friendly to the activities of the business world, will grow by itself.
Q: What is the biggest problem the government in providing a conducive climate for business?
A: The government must also solve the infrastructure problems faced by Indonesia is a country that infrastructure is very weak. Sending goods from Surabaya to Jakarta is more expensive than from Surabaya to Hong Kong, even though the distance is very different. But because of this weak infrastructure eroded the competitiveness of the business world. I believe that businessmen and government work together so our economy can grow 8-10 percent and Indonesia could become not only Asia but the world champion Tigers and there is some view that Indonesia will become Asia’s largest economy by 2050
