Photo: Tom Swinnen | www.shottrotter.be
Bahasa:
Setahun berlalu setelah saya memutuskan untuk resign pada akhir April 2019 yang lalu. Perjalanan setahun yang penuh suka dan duka, makin membenarkan istilah ‘Life is a Roller-Coaster’ di benak saya. Di tengah semua hal tersebut, saya mendapatkan sesuatu hal yang paling berharga di dalam hidup (setidaknya menurut pengertian saya pribadi): pengalaman tanpa penyesalan.
Kalau flashback lagi, awal perjalanan yang sebenarnya mungkin sudah terjadi cukup lama. Sejak kelas 2 SMA, saya sangat menggemari membaca buku-buku tentang entrepreneurship, branding, dan marketing. Buku seperti ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ habis dilalap dalam hitungan jam pada masa remaja saya. Saya juga giat mengamati kakek saya yang bekerja di rumah di kawasan Jakarta Pusat—yang juga merupakan kantornya—sebagai seorang kontraktor. Namun, tetap saja tidak membuat perjalanan menjadi lebih mudah.
Hal yang saya tidak mengerti pada saat itu, kalau pengetahuan, pengalaman dan pengamatan-pengamatan itu akan menciptakan suatu blueprint tersendiri, ketika saya mengambil langkah untuk perjalanan yang lebih panjang suatu hari nanti, beberapa belas tahun kemudian.
Pengalaman berdagang juga sebenarnya bukan sesuatu yang asing bagi saya. Beberapa perusahaan networking sudah pernah saya geluti ketika sekolah dan kuliah karena keadaan finansial yang tidak menentu pada saat itu. Sukses? tentu tidak! mendapatkan sesuatu? Banyak! Mulai dari pelajaran leadership maupun materi—walaupun tidak besar jumlahnya, tapi saya bisa membiayai biaya kuliah dengan hasil dari bisnis tersebut.
Pada masa kuliah, usaha distro dan desain sedang berkembang. Bahkan judul skripsi saya pun membahas tentang distro legendaris di kawasan Tebet. Pada 2007-2008, saya sempat bekerja sama dengan seorang sahabat menyablon kaos desain untuk kemudian dijual. Harganya murah, cuma Rp50.000/buah. “Yang penting balik modal lah,” begitu pikiran saya pada waktu itu. Tapi usaha “coba-coba” ini juga kandas, dikarenakan tidak ada tujuan yang jelas, dan tentunya belum berpengalaman dalam pengelolaannya. Ada hal yang membuat saya berbangga hati, karena setelah beberapa bulan dijual, ada brand clothing besar, meniru designnya dengan copywriting yang serupa.
Pertengahan 2010, bersama dengan seorang sahabat lainnya, saya mencoba menciptakan produk clothing lainnya, tapi usaha tersebut juga gagal walaupun sebenarnya brand-nya sudah mulai terbangun.
Pada waktu itu saya baru mulai berkarier di perusahaan media cetak. Overtime menyebabkan kemustahilan untuk fokus 100% mengembangkan usaha itu. Sahabat saya mencoba mempertahankannya, namun belum berhasil karena pada saat itu dia juga mulai memasuki masa kuliah. Saat ini dia sudah memiliki perusahaan sendiri di bidang F&B franchise dan banyak hal darinya yang juga membuat saya terinspirasi.
Yah, mungkin memang jalan yang harus ditapaki harus berbeda dahulu, tapi mungkin suatu hari kami bisa mencari irisan yang sama dalam berbisnis, siapa yang tahu.
Ada banyak pengalaman berharga tentang peluang lainnya yang pernah saya jajaki, tapi memang yang paling membuat saya betah adalah industri kreatif. Tidak terlalu mengherankan juga, karena background karier dan skill saya di situ, tapi ada faktor lainnya yang saya gemari, seperti proses berpikir, mencipta, dan juga komunitas-nya yang anti neko-neko. Pada saat itu, yang saya pikirkan cuma memaksimalkan apa yang ada di tangan saya untuk suatu hari nanti untuk membangun sesuatu yang lebih besar.
Tahun demi tahun berlalu, tapi tidak pernah terlupa bahwa tujuan awal dari perjalanan saya adalah menjadi mandiri. Hal ini memiliki tantangan tersendiri dalam pekerjaan, karena sering kali saya berselisih pendapat dengan atasan langsung, bahkan owner. Banyak hal dan praktik kurang tepat, yang tidak bisa saya terima karena berlawanan dengan visi dan world-view pribadi.
Tahun demi tahun berlalu, tapi tidak pernah terlupa bahwa tujuan awal dari perjalanan saya adalah menjadi mandiri.
Jalan terang mulai muncul ketika saya bertemu Ebi—orang yang menjadi partner bisnis saya saat ini—yang menjadi sahabat sekaligus teman diskusi dengan tema “berat” dan tidak umum di kantor. Cerita itu mungkin akan menjadi share lainnya di blog ini. Semuanya berjalan natural.
Kami mulai berinisiatif untuk bekerja sebagai tim kreatif. Tuhan membuka jalan dan ada beberapa projek cukup besar yang kami kerjakan sebagai suatu tim. Singkat cerita, kami menciptakan Kramakata dan mulai mengelolanya dengan serius, namun kami masih berat untuk meninggalkan pekerjaan kantoran dan ini menjadi struggle lainnya bagi kami, terutama bagi saya.
Itu tidak berlangsung lama sampai suatu hari, saya di-coaching bisnis (hadiah dari mengikuti challenge JPCC Marketplace) selama 2 jam—ya, cukup 2 jam—oleh David Tjokrorahardjo, seorang business coach, serial entrepreneur dan investor. Diskusi itu membuka mata dan pikiran saya. Masih jelas teringat, kami berdiskusi di sebuah café di Pullman Soedirman, Jakarta Pusat. Dengan karakter tegas dan kata-kata straight-to-the-point, Ko David yang bertubuh tinggi besar berkata seperti ini setelah saya bercerita tentang cash-flow Kramakata, “Hah, serius lu income lu cuma segitu?? gue bingung gimana caranya lu bisa hidup di Jakarta? itu mah bukan usaha kalo lu cuma hasilin sesuatu yang gak fokus dan gak jelas begitu, berdua lagi. Ketauan lu kerja jadi expert!”
Dengan karakter tegas dan kata-kata straight-to-the-point, Ko David yang bertubuh tinggi besar berkata seperti ini setelah saya bercerita tentang cash-flow Kramakata, “Hah, serius lu income lu cuma segitu?? gue bingung gimana caranya lu bisa hidup di Jakarta? itu mah bukan usaha kalo lu cuma hasilin sesuatu yang gak fokus dan gak jelas begitu, berdua lagi. Ketauan lu kerja jadi expert!”
Sontak kaget, seperti ditampar beruang rasanya. Saya pikir saya sudah memulai dengan baik, ternyata belum. Karena saya terbiasa dengan budaya yang straight-to-the-point, saya bisa menerimanya dan berkata dalam hati, “betul juga nih, kata-kata Ko David“. Dia juga membagikan beberapa poin berpikir di dalam bisnis terutama soal memperhatikan bisnis kita sebagai anak kita sendiri. Fokus adalah salah satu kuncinya. Saya renungkan dalam-dalam, kemudian saya mencoba menyusun pikiran dan strategi kembali sebelum saya sampaikan ke partner usaha saya.
Singkat cerita, saya lakukan apa yang harus saya lakukan. Pertengahan 2018 sampai akhir 2019 tidak mudah. SANGAT TIDAK MUDAH. Membangun income dari nol itu betul-betul membutuhkan fokus, strategi, usaha lebih dan stamina yang luar biasa. Semua dilakukan sendiri, apalagi sudah ada beban hidup yang berjalan. Sekitar 2 bulan awal, penghasilan saya ada di kisaran 0–1 juta Rupiah saja.
Saya sempat menyerah dan memutuskan untuk kembali bekerja kantoran, tapi cuma bertahan 3 minggu, karena ketika kita sudah memiliki identitas dan visi yang jelas, agak sulit untuk bekerja di bawah orang yang berbeda terlalu jauh dalam pemahaman tentang hal-hal tersebut—walaupun orang tersebut memiliki skill dan modal yang
luar biasa—terutama bagi saya pribadi adalah pemahaman tentang kemanusiaan-nya.
Saya sempat menyerah dan memutuskan untuk kembali bekerja kantoran, tapi cuma bertahan 3 minggu, karena ketika kita sudah memiliki identitas dan visi yang jelas, agak sulit untuk bekerja di bawah orang yang berbeda terlalu jauh dalam pemahaman tentang hal-hal tersebut—walaupun orang tersebut memiliki skill dan modal yang luar biasa—terutama bagi saya pribadi adalah pemahaman tentang kemanusiaannya.
Mengalami pekerjaan dengan beban mental seperti itu membuat saya bersyukur dan teringat hal-hal baik ketika berjalan mandiri. Saya tersadar kalau sesungguhnya, yang memegang peranan untuk berhasil itu kita sendiri. Saya mulai ambil kendali atas apa yang bisa saya kontrol dan bertanggung jawab untuk yang diharapkan, maupun tidak diharapkan. Keadaan menjadi lebih baik, dan membuat saya menjadi lebih bersyukur atas segala proses yang harus saya lewati.
Sampai ketika partner usaha saya juga memutuskan untuk resign, BOOM! Seperti sudah terbiasa mengangkat beban 100 kilogram dengan 1 tangan, kemudian tangan lainnya ikut membantu.
Saat ini, saya berpikir sejenak di tengah pandemi—yang menjadi tantangan bagi semua manusia, khususnya dalam konteks tulisan ini bagi entrepreneurs—seperti melihat di dalam hati, memori dan perjalanan yang sudah dilewati. Ketika benang merah sudah terhubung, saya mengerti bahwa perjalanan sudah dimulai jauh ketika saya remaja, bahkan ketika saya tidak dan belum sadar akan hal tersebut, tapi mau untuk mencoba.
Semua sebetulnya sudah dipersiapkan untuk kita yang mau, memang perlu tekad dan keberanian untuk memutuskan, serta keterbukaan pikiran dan hati untuk selalu perbarui dan improve mindset.
Semoga tulisan ini bisa berguna juga untuk mereka yang sedang di dalam perjalanan yang sama. Keep on going, friends!
Aldy Jeremia Tjan
Kramakata | Slice of Thoughts
English:
The Beginning of the Journey
A year has passed after I decided to resign at the end of April 2019 ago. A journey, full of joy and sorrow, justified the term ‘Life is a Roller-Coaster’ in my mind. In the midst of all things, I experienced the most valuable thing in life (at least in my personal comprehension): An Experience without Regrets.
If I do some flashback, the beginning of the actual journey may have occurred long time ago in my youth time. Since my second year of high school, I always loved reading books about entrepreneurship, branding, and marketing. Books like ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad‘ were read just in couple of hours, so curious and excited at the same time. I also regularly watched my grandfather, who worked at our home in the Central Jakarta area – which is also his office – as a contractor. However in the reality of the journey itself, it still does not make it easier.
What I didn’t understand at the time was those knowledge, experience and observations would create a blueprint for me when I took steps for a longer journey one day, a few years later.
Business and marketing was actually not something that is alien to me. I had been involved in several networking companies during school and college time, there was uncertain financial situation at the time. Success? hell no! got something? Lots! Started from leadership and then income – although not a great number, but I could pay for my college tuitions as the results of the business.
During my college time, the clothing design business was developing greatly. Therefore, I examined and discussed a legendary distro in the area of Tebet, South Jakarta for my thesis’ title. In 2007-2008, I also had a chance to work with a friend to produce design shirts. Price was cheap, only IDR 50,000/piece (almost US$ 3 in currency nowadays). “I just need to reach a BEP on these,” exactly my thought at that time. But this “trial and error” effort also failed, there were no clear objectives, and not yet developed an effective and focused business management. There were thing that make me happy though, A few months being sold, there were a big clothing brand, imitated the design with similar copywriting.
Mid-2010, together with another friend, I tried to create another clothing products, but the business also failed even though the brand had actually begun to develop. Some were also yelled about the brand naming without asking me personally, lol.
At that time I just started a career in a print media company. Overwork caused impossibility to focus 100% on developing the business. My friend tried to keep it alive, but failed, since he just began to enter college. Currently he has his own company in the field of F&B franchise and many things coming from him that also inspired me.
Well, maybe the journey had to be separated, since each one has different footsteps and personal passion, but maybe one day if we could find the same incision; interest and vision in business, who really knows what’s really going to happen in the future.
Many valuable experiences and opportunities, which I had explored, but what really catched my heart was the creative industry. Not too surprising either, since I came from creative and media background, but honestly there are other important factors, which I always enjoy doing the process, such as the process of thinking, creating, and also the community and colleagues. Always thinking about maximizing what I already had in my hands, for one day build something bigger.
Years passed for me as an productive working guy, and I also developed my career path as a designer, but truly, I never forgot that the original purpose of my trip was to become an independent one, to be an entrepreneur. This kind of vision has its own challenges at the office life, because some of those times, I have to disagree with my direct superiors, even the business owners. Lot of things and business practices (and perspective) were not right, which kinda hard for me to accept such contrary to my personal vision and world-view.
Years passed for me as an productive working guy, and I also developed my career path as a designer, but truly, I never forgot that the original purpose of my trip was to become an independent one, to be an entrepreneur.
A bright path began to emerge when I met Ebi – a person who is my current business partner – who became a good friend and discussion partner with those uncommon “heavy-themed” discussions. That story might become another share on this blog another time. Everything went natural, but I could see that we are sharing something similar.
We decided to start worked as a creative team. God opened the way, there were some real corporate projects came in. Long story short, we created Kramakata and started to manage Kramakata professionally. One problem, we still had a hard time leaving office work, and this was another big struggle for us, especially for me.
One lucky day, I got a free 2 hours business coaching from JPCC Marketplace challenge with Mr. David Tjokrorahardjo – a business coach, serial entrepreneur and investor. Those discussion was legendary and opened my eyes clearly. We discussed at a café inside Pullman Soedirman, Central Jakarta. With a bold Sumatran character and straight-to-the-point words, David – who is really tall compared to me, lol – said this after I told him about Kramakata’s cash flow, “Huh, seriously? You’re only earning that much?? I’m confused how you guys could do it? How you afford to live in Jakarta with that cash flow model? It’s not worthed, if you guys running on something that is not focused and not really profitable, and there are already both of you. You should just becoming an employee or expert! Nothing wrong with that.”
With a bold Sumatran character and straight-to-the-point words, David – who is really tall compared to me, lol – said this after I told him about Kramakata’s cash flow, “Huh, seriously? You’re only earning that much?? I’m confused how you guys could do it? How you afford to live in Jakarta with that cash flow model? It’s not worthed, if you guys running on something that is not focused and not really profitable, and there are already both of you. You should just becoming an employee or expert! Nothing wrong with that.”
Shocked, those statement felt like bear slaps . I thought we had started well, apparently no, a big no. I’m used to a straight-to-the-point culture, no BS, so I could take those and said to myself, “David is right“. He also shared several points of thinking in business, especially about paying attention to our business as our own children. Focus was one of the important key I learned in those 2 hours. I pondered deeply, tried to re-arrange my thoughts and strategies before I shared these lessons to my business partners.
Long story short, I did what I had to do. Mid-2018 until the end of 2019 was not easy. IT WAS REALLY HARD. Build income from zero really requires focus, strategy, Super Saiyan’s effort and some extraordinary endurance. Yes it is series of mental marathon. Everything has to be done by myself, moreover there was already life’s expenses going on. 2 months early, my income was only in the range of 0-1 million Rupiah, wooooo.
I almost gave up and decided to shift back to be an employee as an art director. It was only for 3 weeks and I quitted the job again. The lesson was that when we already having a clear identity and vision, it is rather difficult to work under people who differ from us too far in understanding about these things – even though that person has extraordinary skills and capital – personally for me is the understanding of working human and creativity.
I almost gave up and decided to shift back to be an employee as an art director. It was only for 3 weeks and I quitted the job again. The lesson was that when we already having a clear identity and vision, it is rather difficult to work under people who differ from us too far in understanding about these things – even though that person has extraordinary skills and capital – personally for me is the understanding of working human and creativity.
Experienced a job with a mental and physical burdens like that, made me more grateful, reminisced the good things happened when i’m walking independently. Finally I realized that in reality, who plays the role to success is always ourselves. I began to take control of what I could control and tried to be responsible for everything; expected or unexpected. Things got better, and made me a better human with all those ‘short’ processes that I had to go through.
It was until my business partner also decided to resign, BOOM! Some moment of extra relief happened. It was like as if I accustomed lifting weights of 100 kilograms with one hand, then the other hand now start to help.
Right now, in this moment of the pandemic – which is a challenge for all human race, especially in the context of entrepreneurs – looking inside the memories and the journey that has passed, I can see something is connected, I finally understood that the journey had begun long ago when I was a teenager, even when I wasn’t aware of it yet.
Everything has actually been prepared for those of us, who always trying and believing, indeed it needs determination and courage to start something new, as well as open mind and heart to always update and improve our mindset towards new useful things, and life in general.
Hopefully this writing can be useful also for those who are on the same journey. Keep on going, friends!
Slice of Thoughts 