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“Banyak orang merasa modal keyakinan dan percaya diri untuk menekuni sesuatu yang diminati belum cukup karena masih banyak faktor lain yang mempengaruhi. Namun Jerry Aurum (34), fotografer profesional, pemilik “Jerry Aurum Design dan Photography” percaya bahwa keyakinan dan percaya diri lebih dari cukup untuk mewujudkan hasrat dan keinginan dalam bidang fotografi dan desain. Tak mau terjebak dengan khas tertentu dalam karyanya, maka proses kreatif dan eksplorasi ide tak henti-henti dilakukan dalam kehidupannya sehari-hari. Mottonya adalah “stay foolish and hunger”, yaitu penting untuk memelihara rasa kurang tahu agar keinginan untuk belajar dan belajar lagi selalu ada.”

Keluarga Tanpa Darah Seni

Masa kecil hingga SMA dihabiskannya di kota Medan, Sumatera Utara. Saat umur 5 tahun rupanya ia menyenangi dan sudah bisa mengoperasikan kamera milik Sang Ibunda. Kemudian saat duduk di bangku sekolah dasar hobinya bertambah, yaitu menonton film, baik film lokal maupun asing dari berbagai genre. Tamat SD sekitar 1000 film telah ditonton, lengkap dengan catatan untuk setiap film. Dan tanpa disadari proses kreatif pun mulai terbentuk.

Lahir dari keluarga tanpa darah seni bagi Jerry tidak berpengaruh terhadap bidang yang ditekuninya sekarang. Keberagaman profesi dan minat dalam keluarga menunjukkan betapa tingginya nilai demokrasi yang dianut, tanpa menghilangkan rasa saling hormat menghormati antara anak dan orang tua. Seluruh anggota keluarga bebas—dan memang dididik—untuk mengemukakan pendapat akan sesuatu, dimana pendapat itu selalu didengar. Begitu juga dengan masalah minat dan bidang yang ingin ditekuni dalam hidup, tak ada kekangan melainkan dukungan yang diberikan. Selain itu pendidikan akan pentingnya kemandirian selalu ditanamkan sejak kecil. Uang saku yang terbatas dan sekedar cukup membentuk pola pikir untuk selalu berusaha mendapatkan sesuatu yang diinginkan.

Modal Keyakinan dan Percaya Diri

Cita-cita dan bidang yang ingin ditekuni belum ditemukan juga sampai kelas 2 SMA hingga ia melakukan konsultasi dengan psikolog. Hasil psikotes hanya menambah kebingungan karena nilainya merata di semua bidang dan tidak ada yang menonjol. Lalu otak pun bekerja memikirkan padu padan dari bidang-bidang yang bisa menjadikannya ‘jagoan’. Pilihanpun dijatuhkan kepada desain.

“Menurut saya desain adalah applied art yang merupakan pertemuan atau konvergensi dari tiga himpunan : science, technology dan art. Semua bidang ilmu dari mulai matematika sampai psikologi ke masyarakat bisa dipakai dan diaplikasikan melalui desain.”

Maka selepas SMA pendidikan dilanjutkan di Institut Teknologi Bandung, Fakultas Seni Rupa dan Desain, jurusan Desain Komunikasi Visual. Disana ia mulai tergabung dalam semacam perhimpunan fotografer amatir dimana kemampuan fotografinya terus terasah dan juga mulai percaya diri mengikuti berbagai lomba. Dari sekian banyak penghargaan yang didapatkan dari lomba foto, yang paling berkesan justru didapatkan dari lomba foto lokal se-Bandung untuk kategori fesyen/model. Saat itu untuk pertama kalinya penghargaan diraih (juara 2) dan pialanya masih disimpan hingga saat ini. Lalu sedikit demi sedikit uang hasil berbagai lomba mulai dikumpulkan dan digunakan untuk meng-upgrade kameranya.

Lulus dari ITB dengan predikat Cum Laude, ia menganggur selama 3 bulan di Bandung untuk kemudian pindah ke Jakarta. Sempat bekerja pada biro desain grafis selama kurang lebih 3 bulan pada dua perusahaan membuatnya tidak merasa nyaman dan akhirnya membuka sendiri usahanya “Jerry Aurum Design and Photography”. Menurutnya perasaan freedom of choice dalam bekerja sangatlah penting. Bebas menentukan apa yang dimau dan bersedia menanggung resiko atas pilihan sendiri. Dan kemerdekaan itu tidak bisa didapatkan selama bekerja dengan/untuk orang lain.

Self promotion dilakukan dengan membagikan kalender berwujud floppy disk ke berbagai perusahaan di Jakarta,  sebagian besar bermodalkan keyakinan dan percaya diri. Keyakinannya tidak sia-sia, klien pertama yang tertarik dengan karyanya adalah salah satu perusahaan minyak besar, ConocoPhillips. Percaya diri juga dengan harga yang ditawarkan, down payment yang diterima langsung dibelikan kamera profesional pertama. Meskipun menghadapi beberapa hambatan, keyakinan dan percaya diri tetap kuat dipegang. Nothing to lose, tanpa beban, begitu prinsipnya. Ia lebih suka menjalaninya dengan spontan, tanpa banyak berpikir karena jika terlalu banyak berpikir, biasanya akan sulit bertindak. Jalani saja, dengan adanya kesalahan justru akan bisa banyak belajar dan pada akhirnya lebih maju dari orang yang lebih banyak mikir.

Jangan Terjebak Identitas

Dalam menghasilkan sebuah karya, Ia tidak pernah berusaha meninggalkan sebuah ciri khas atau identitas tertentu. Identitas dalam industri kreatif sebaiknya murni terbentuk karena proses yang sangat matang. Jangan sampai terjebak dalam identitas karena dapat menimbulkan recognition akan hasil karya dan bisa menghasilkan kenyamanan di diri. Bahkan dapat mengecilkan keinginan untuk belajar dan mengeksplor lebih jauh lagi. Sampai sekarang ia memang tidak pernah mementingkan identitas dan juga tidak pernah mengkotak-kotakkan dirinya. Dibiarkannya pendapat orang yang menganggapnya sebagai fotografer, graphic designer, atau penulis. Sesuai dengan kata-kata dari dosennya yang selalu diingat.

“Identitas jangan dijadikan seperti make-up atau rias wajah untuk menutupi jati diri tapi dia harus menjadi jati dirinya sendiri. Dan itu butuh waktu dan proses. Jadi jangan dicari, dia akan datang dengan sendirinya”

Jerry bersedia membagi proses kreatif yang didapatkannya secara alami tanpa berusaha mencari metode tertentu. Yaitu memelihara ketertarikan terhadap proses kreatif dan menganggap hal itu sebagai sesuatu yang menarik. Proses eksplorasi harus dipandang lebih penting daripada proses eksekusi ide dimana hal itu bisa dilakukan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, tanpa menganggap hal itu sebagai suatu pekerjaan rutin. Apabila hal tersebut bisa dilakukan, maka perhatian akan proses kreasi akan semakin bertambah. Memicu untuk terus menerus berpikir. Sehingga ketika diperlukan ide ini akan muncul sendiri karena terpetakan dan tersimpan dalam otak. Selain itu dalam melakukan proses kreasi sebaiknya jangan mempunyai metode tetap karena kalau sudah menemukan satu metode maka akan terjebak dalam pola tersebut.

Di dunia fotografi, ia tidak pernah bosan karena selalu ada proses yang berbeda untuk menghasilkan suatu karya. Proses itu terdiri dari mencari orang, membuat properti, bertemu dengan orang dan model yang berbeda, memikirkan konsep yang berbeda—terkadang bisa memakan waktu sampai satu tahun—dan hasilnya bisa langsung dilihat seketika itu juga dalam beberapa kali jepretan. Konsep ini sangat disukai olehnya, berbeda dengan melukis dan mendesain.

Tetapi harus diakui juga bahwa dalam proses kreatif memang ada banyak hal yang mempengaruhi. Sebagai seorang seniman ia mengakui banyak mengalami naik turun. Jalan yang ditempuh seorang fotografer menurutnya adalah a lonely path. Beberapa hambatan juga dialami seperti masalah keuangan, kerjasama tim yang gagal, klien yang tidak puas karena hasil yang biasa saja, dan banyak lagi. Hambatan tersebut disiasatinya dengan tidak menganggap semuanya terlalu serius. Selain itu mottonya adalah to stay foolish and hunger. Penting untuk selalu merasa kurang tahu agar kembali ingin belajar dan belajar lagi.

Hingga sampai saat ini berbagai proyek sudah ditangani dan sebagian besar menghasilkan kepuasan untuk kliennya dan berbagai penghargaan untuk dirinya. Mulai dari commercial, model and fashion, wedding, desain graphic, exhibition, dll. Selain itu proyek untuk membukukan karyanya juga terus berjalan antara lain Femalogrophy yang rencananya akan dibikin trilogi, juga In My Room yang terasa begitu personal ketika melihat foto-foto di dalamnya.

Pesan Kreatif untuk Indonesia

Mengenai kondisi fotografi di Indonesia saat ini, ia banyak melihat perubahan. Trend fotografi yang berimbas menjamurnya anak muda menenteng kamera kemanapun tidak dilihatnya sebagai suatu masalah. Pertama memang kuantitas harus ditingkatkan, baru bicara tentang kualitas. Kualitas fotografi di Indonesia masih buruk, hal ini dipengaruhi kultur kerja dimana totalitas dalam mengerjakan sesuatu bukan sesuatu yang membumi disini. Selain itu juga orang Indonesia masih kurang suka membaca, mendengar, atau  browsing internet sehingga miskin referensi. Selama referensi dan wawasan kurang, maka kualitas akan terhambat.

Karya mengenai kebudayaan Indonesia sudah sering dibuat hingga membuatnya cukup bingung. Karena semakin dieksplorasi, semakin disadari bahwa simbolisasi kebudayaan Indonesia sudah usang, bolak-balik itu-itu saja, membosankan. Sehingga minat untuk menekuni hal itu juga tidak konsisten. Dan ia juga tidak berusaha untuk memelihara perhatian terhadap eksplorasi kebudayaan Indonesia.

Beruntunglah para pelaku kreatif karena selalu bisa punya cara untuk bisa menghasilkan pendapatan. Industri kreatif adalah industri yang bebas dimana banyak sistem yang bisa dipilih. Tetapi jangan sekalipun melakukan korupsi. Karena terlalu banyak pelaku bisnis yang terjebak dalam permainan korupsi. Godaannya sangat besar dan cenderung lebih mudah untuk ikut bermain daripada tidak. Sekali ikut dalam permainan, maka hanya itu satu-satunya cara yang diketahui untuk dapat bertahan hidup.

Harapan untuk website indonesiakreatif.net sederhana saja, ia ingin agar website ini bisa bertahan lama, jangan hanya semangat membuatnya saja tapi pemeliharannya kurang. Pesan pun dilontarkan terhadap pemerintah untuk industri kreatif khususnya dalam bidang fotografi.

“Sediakan anggarannya, jangan disunat. Apa yang mestinya diberikan, berikanlah dengan tulus. Ribuan proposal dari pelaku kreatif dalam bidang fotografi menunggu untuk diberikan dukungan”

Mengenai kesuksesan, menurutnya hal itu tidak bisa diukur, impossible. Kesuksesan tidak pernah dipandangnya dalam skala besar dan dalam jangka waktu panjang, melainkan hanya untuk hari itu saja. Selama masih bisa membuat suatu perubahan yang nyata dan masih bisa menginisiasi perubahan untuk diri sendiri dan lingkungan terdekat atau bahkan masyarakat luas, hari itu adalah hari yang sukses untuknya. Seperti prinsipnya yang lain, bahwa everyday is CSR (corporate social responsibility), ia tidak ingin melabeli apa yang dilakukannya setiap hari. Kontribusi terhadap dunia kreatif diusahakan disetiap hari, dalam berbagai macam bentuk.

I've told them that putting my face on the backdrop wouldn't help

The worst thing about entrepreneurship forums? People do get addicted. Not to the entrepreneurship, but to the events. I have met some very interesting people during some of my sharing sessions, telling me that they had attended a lot of seminars and loved them so much. I thought, “Maybe it’s time to stop going to seminars and invest your time to actually start your business. In short, start working and stop wasting your time!” I didn’t say it though. I wanted to go home safely.

National Entrepreneurship Forum (NEF) was initiated by AIESEC, the largest student driven organization in the world, and was fully supported by Universitas Indonesia, whose economic faculty is considered the best in this country. I was once again very honored to be invited to such event.

I was about to start writing about this fun event (held in one fine Saturday morning, when I supposed to be sleeping and wake up late. Oh well..) until a message appeared on my Facebook, sent from Besty P. Yustika, who attended NEF and shared me the link to her blog. After reading it, I decided to abort my writing mission and show hers instead, as she wrote it a hundred times better than me. Please read it, you’ll like it.

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Inspire Me at National Entrepreneurship Forum by Besty Yustika

An Eventful Day

I went to the workshop with Trisna and her sister, Fithri. We got to the Faculty of Economics where the venue was located at 09.40 and although I was told the workshop would start at 08.30, thankfully, it hadn’t started when we entered the auditorium.

Trisna walked towards the empty seats at the front row. Fithri followed without hesitation. They chose the very front seats at the centre part.

“Are we sitting here?” I asked uncertainly, still standing, pointing at the chairs at the front row.
“Yes,” said Fithri, who was taking a seat, “so that we can get the most value out of our money,” she added.

Hmm, good point. Why not make each cent of Rp. 60,000,- ticket price I paid worthwhile, especially when I already missed the seminar on the first day. By sitting at the front, chances are, you will tend to absorb more information or ‘forced’ to pay more attention.

The auditorium was already 60% filled and judging from the appearance, I bet most of the participants were university students…which..kind of made me feel ‘senior’ – if ‘old’ is not the proper word to describe it.

Among the speakers that day were photographer Jerry Aurum, Bambang Ifnuruddin Hidayat of Property Plus and Hendy Setiono, owner of Kebab Turki Baba Rafi. In general, their presentations talked about the nature of each business; photography and graphic design, property as being the developer and food retail. What was more interesting, they shared their good and bad experience which naturally revealed their profiles, backgrounds and stories in the early days of their business.

Jerry Aurum who opened up the presentation emphasized on getting start with your business, making trial and error and learning from the mistakes. The essence of his saying is that, we gain experience by doing things wrong. We commonly do things wrong when we start making something. So, start making it happen and begin taking lessons from your failure.

For those who are in constant doubts, his message was clear: You don’t need to wait until you’re ready. It’s ok to make mistakes. The most important thing is to start first.

For those who think about running a business while working as employee, his statement was even more obvious: Impossible. As an alternative, he advised to set a deadline. For instance, quit your job, set a one-year-period to try a business. If it doesn’t seem to go anywhere at all then go back looking for employment.

For those who face negative comments from their surrounding, he referred it as a challenge that will grow as you proceed. He gave an example. One time he got complaints from his client, a big national company. All of a sudden, the discouraging response from his mother on his choice of career years back, seemed to be nothing.

He also pointed out creativity as being different. It doesn’t take an artist to be creative. Even a person with the slightest sense of art can differentiate him/herself from others (with his/her own unusual way).

Another story Jerry shared with us is when he employed 20 staffs, but felt everything had become too stressful. As a result, he decided to focus more on doing photography, making it the cash cow for his business and on the contrary, downsize the graphic design service. At the end, there was a total cut down from 20 staffs to only 5. But, he didn’t just sack these people. Instead, he supported them to be independent as part of his social responsibility. This support must have included knowledge-sharing, which I’m sure Bambang of Property Plus couldn’t be more agree.

Bambang Ifnuruddin Hidayat obtained his Bachelor degree in textile studies and pursued a career working for a textile company. After leaving his job 12 years ago with latest salary of Rp. 25,000,000,-/ month, he embarked on a journey as property developer. His solid experience in growing the business cannot be separated by what he called ‘local wisdom’ or ‘kearifan lokal’.

The following are some essential tips from him:
- Networking and keeping in touch (silaturahmi)
- Sharing
- Make mistakes and learn from it (just as Jerry had said)
- Patience
- Look for land with favourable terms of payment – the more you can extend your payment period, the better it is
- Excellent at negotiating

I think of all the above-mentioned points, the latter is the most crucial one, particularly when it comes to convincing a landowner to release his/her valuable asset – land. I can imagine the level of trust you would need to build upon. Nevertheless, I’m sure it’s worth the effort.

He also reminded me of the art of delegation by outsourcing. In his case, he has always outsourced bureaucratic legal and administration stuffs. Save the time, avoid the fuss, focus on your main task.

The last speaker, Hendy Setiono, is 26 years old, yet he has won several awards in entrepreneurship nation-wide and in Asia-Pacific. His initial business was Kebab Turki Baba Rafi which he started 7 years ago when he was 19.

He quoted a research done by Action Coach which shows that 80% of business fails between the first year until 5th year, making only 20% succeeds. But, from this 20%, only 20% of it continues to survive until year 10. This fact shows that business indeed takes hard work, planning and commitment, which underlines Hendy’s statement that there is no such thing as side-business (bisnis sampingan/ sambilan). I suppose what he said is parallel to what our first speaker said that it is impossible being an employee and running a business at the same time. Business is about focus. Business is about being consistent.

In addition to this, Hendy quoted Sandiaga Uno’s 5 factor to be successful entrepreneur:
- Passionate
- Creative
- Dedication
- Believe
- Grateful

One of Hendy’s food businesses, Ayam Bakar Mas Mono was originally traditional food stall he found in Tebet area. He transformed the traditional management into professional management which eventually elevates the brand.

He believes that the stronger a brand, the more premium the price. This is called brand value. Still, brand value is something you may want to consider at the later stage of your business. Prior to that, developing the system is the element you need to think at the early phase. Most business starts off their operation manually, which is ok. But, as you progress and competition gets more intense, it’s a sign to change the traditional management into professional management. Here are his suggestions on how to do it:

Traditional Management VS Professional Management:
- Learn something new everyday
- The bigger the opponent, the greater the hero (consider our competitors as motivation to be more competitive and creative)
- Put a great team behind you (leaders do things that staffs don’t do, for instance: concept, market research, planning to expand the market, adding outlets, etc)
- Be bankable

Pave My Way

This kind of workshop, I can tell, is not the first I’ve ever had. When I was in Glasgow I went to a young entrepreneurship workshop held at SECC with Ika and Lulu. The speakers were successful Scottish entrepreneurs, like Charan Gil (owner of Indian chain restaurant, Ashoka), Michelle Mone (who ran lingerie business), one guy who made a fortune from media business and a young man who operated catering company and whom Ika once worked for as freelance staff. It was very inspiring and I remember having this ‘bubbly’ feeling when the workshop finished.

Now, after yesterday’s workshop, I also have ‘light’ feeling, but somehow it’s different from the one I had. The thing is, I joined the workshop in Glasgow 3 years ago before starting the soap business. This time, I came to the forum after having the experience of running a soap business. Consequently, I can relate bits and pieces of what they said with my own story. Some of the shared experience is relevant to my own experience, although they are success stories, while mine is not even a profitable one .

When Jerry Aurum suggested taking a full year to do business, I thought to myself, I’ve been there, done that. I did the soap business for a year after leaving my job at a nation-wide retail group. When the soap business turned up to be a loss, I began applying for jobs again. Now, after working for nearly 9 months, my conscience sort of pushes me again to give another shot and launch another business venture. I would do more sharing and delegating, too as I should have done in the past.

This self-reflection gives me some sort of confidence. I think the lessons learned have never been so real especially on how to measure, take logical action, do things better and be committed. Indirectly, it has paved my way to carry out more realistic business steps, not just relying on mere dream and hope.

Referring to the Action Coach survey, we’ll see 5 years from now whether or not my next business will still exists. If yes, then we can sum up that every cent I spent for this forum worth a value. Until then, first thing to do is to put into practice the lessons learned.

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Well, my friends, what are you waiting for? Be an entrepreneur today.

Asiiiek, dapet kue!

Satu dekade. 10 tahun. 120 bulan. 3,652 hari. 87,648 jam. Atau 5,258,880 menit yang lalu, ketika saya memutuskan untuk menentukan jalan hidup saya sendiri menjelajahi belantara dunia industri kreatif di Maret tahun 2000. Hari ini, Jerry Aurum Design & Photography (JADP) masih berdiri disini, still rocking and rolling around, mencoba membuat perubahan buat dirinya sendiri, dan mudah-mudahan, untuk sekitarnya.

Lho, koq jadi serius begini? Maaf, tadi kebawa emosi jiwa, abis kalo dipikir-pikir, diinget-inget, betapa manis dan penuh kenangan 10 tahun yang terjalani ini, boleh untuk nyaingin cerpen di majalah remaja. Kisah JADP sendiri pernah diulas di posting blog ini tahun lalu, From Hobby to Business and How I Started It. Cerita singkatnya, pada saat itu saya berumur 23, belum lama tamat dari ITB, mau sekolah lagi tidak ada uang tetapi sudah kebelet mau jadi entrepreneur, karena tidak mau terkekang oleh aturan main di perusahaan orang lain. Jadilah perusahaan beranggotakan, hmm, satu orang, yaitu saya sendiri, berkembang menjadi dua (nambah satu kurir, masih nyapu ngepel sendiri), lalu jadi puluhan, mengkoleksi klien-klien di berbagai negara, menunaikan beribu proyek, membangun sendiri studio tiga tingkat, memotret keliling berbagai benua, dari udara, darat hingga dalam lautan, berpameran ke manca negara, menerbitkan buku dan menebar ilmu di berbagai seminar. Kedengarannya mantap, bukan? Lagi-lagi maaf, tidak.

Mempertahankan JADP di garis depan tidak semudah, atau sekeren itu. Jadi ga mantap-mantap amat jatuhnya. Terlalu banyak kesalahan yang saya lakukan, mungkin bisa jadi buku baru: Uncountable Stupidity of Me, yang tebalnya bisa buat nimpuk guk-guk. Untungnya, karena saya terlalu pelupa, jadi yang kebodohan yang diinget juga sedikit.

Gosip yang sudah mampir juga tidak kalah canggih. Saya pernah digosipin jadi anak menteri sehingga bisa buat pameran di berbagai negara. Atau digosipin  jadi penanam modal Sour Sally. Pernah digosipin sebagai fotografer yang rela meninggalkan klien kalau tidak sependapat. Atau tidak sudi memotret orang jelek. Atau dikatakan saudaranya Delon (saya ini bapaknya!).

Sejak beberapa tahun lalu, JADP kembali menjadi mungil, dan berusaha sebaik-baiknya untuk tidak tumbuh besar kembali, karena saya ternyata tidak berminat mengurus perusahaan dengan orang banyak. Banyak mengurus jadi sedikit memotret. Tidak asik. Jadi, the company should stay small, the jobs should be big.

Supaya tidak kepanjangan, saya buat jadi bullet points saja ya, apa yang bisa saya inget-inget dalam 10 tahun aksi sepak terjang, jungkir balik, kayang, head-spin dari JADP (sebagian dalam bahasa Inggris, karena kebetulan kedengarannya lebih keren):

• Climbing up is never be that difficult. Keeping the team intact is.
• Fotografi memperkenalkan beribu hal baru: naik helikopter, melihat wanita telanjang (hmm, udah pernah sih sebelum mulai motret), mengunjungi Bahama, menerbitkan buku, makan konro dengan wapres, dirayu sosialita (ouuch), melihat sekolah miskin, tidur di jalan dan banyak lagi
• We have done too many mistakes to count, but I hope people remember our goodness more.
• God knows how much I love what I do, and how I hate doing its admin! I always lose my pen and can never find my stapler.
• Don’t talk about idealism when we are in our ideal situation. When we’re in deep shit, prove it.
• Tiga hal yang bikin saya merasa hidup: eksplorasi ide, memotret dan mendesain. Sisanya, saya jalani supaya tetap hidup.
• Entrepreneurship can be very lonely. Lucky I was well prepared when starting it.
• There is no such establishment. Changes constantly shake it and keep us dancing and rock n rollin!
• Good clients are such a treasure. So are good friends.
• Don’t get into dirty deals. Be a lawyer if you want to do so.
• Never give up. No one wants to deal with losers. Losing doesn’t make us a loser.

It is the 10th year of our journey. I hope we’ll be around for another 100 years and still inspire others in another 1000 years.

It was a fine afternoon in January 2010… clear and breezy. I could not take my eyes away from the horizon in the sea of Rajaampat, Papua. Being away from Jakarta always brings me a good mood to give a quality time to myself (an exception to my toilet affair every morning, which is awesome, but doesn’t include a million dollar view like what I had).

One thing I did remember: I forgot more things. It’s funny to see that our hunger of excitements only fuels our source of forgetfulness. I thought I better write down a few things that I considered interesting to remember in 2009, so I can remember to use it when trying to look smart in front of new clients.

So here I am, sitting at a cafe at Plasa Senayan at 3 pm, compiling those thoughts (and wondering why these people around me don’t have to go to work… lucky bastards…).

1. I have realized that the toughest battle is within myself, with myself. In most of the cases, I lost.
2. I realized that graphic design was a dying business. Most of the work from idiots have successfully satisfy idiot clients. The only problem is, there are more idiots than ever now.
3. I wrote more than ever in 2009. They were still terrible writings, but I hope they didn’t fail to make you an inspired reader.
4. Being more well-known brings lots of benefits. But I don’t think the downside is any less.
5. I am being blessed with my last exhibition and book, In My Room. It proved me that simple ideas work well in this complicated world.
6. The book made me talk in-depth with many of the public figures in Indonesia. You know what interests them the most? Themselves.
7. Advertising in Indonesia has been walking backwards. Less creative ideas sell more.
8. Photography is getting very popular. And so is Photoshop.
9. I realized that in LOVE, I knew nothing.
10. I lost a lot of things during the year. So much, so many. Maybe I needed to.
11. I have hurt many good people around me during the year. Some, deeply. I am truly sorry.
12. I thought I would have been tired with Facebook. Nope.
13. I was introduced to another amazing world wonder: Twitter. See, simple ideas, again, work.
14. Canon made its best move in photography with its 5D mark 2. My best value camera ever.
15. Macintosh stayed cool and unbeatable. If PC people think differently, it’s mostly because they haven’t tried both.
16. I was surprised to see the development of inkjet printer. Hewlett Packard did a good job.
17. Creative industry got dirtier every year. Getting hard to win pitches with honesty? Be a lawyer or start a restaurant.
18. I stopped doing pro-bono work. It’s a stupid concept.
19. My company became very slim. Love it. Less headache, less fix cost, more profit, more free time, more traveling.
20. Getting out of my comfort (creative) zone saved me from being a cocky asshole. I hope.
21. I judged a national design competition for the first time. I found it equally as fun as judging photo competitions.
22. I started to do sport again. Creative people, trust me, it helps.
23. I needed less sleep. Some said it’s a sign of getting old.

This book is about true stories of young entrepreneurs in Indonesia: how they started, what inspired them and where they are now. Written by a famous educator, motivator, Prof. Dr. Rhenald Kasali, you can get the copy at any bookstores now.

When a friend of mine called and congratulated me, I was pretty clueless. I didn’t know that Rhenald included my story (page 126). No complain though. I feel honored.

Some of Rhenald’s mantra as his conclusions on my entrepreneurship:
- Give the very best of your quality. Never think that people buy your image or brand.
- Limit our products. Quality products are not mass products.
- Be consistent on pricing. Your price shows your quality.
- Be exclusive.
- Give credence. It’s the symbol of trust.
- Always stay ahead. Your credibility is your challenge.

Saya tadi duduk di bangku tunggu penumpang di terminal satu bandara Soekarno Hatta, di lorong sebelum masuk ke gate. Bangku rendeng tiga tempat saya duduk berada di depan pintu keluar ruangan merokok, menyisakan jarak 50 cm dari pilar. Terlalu sempit untuk jadi lorong, terlalu lebar untuk tidak dilewati. Jadilah itu lorong ‘tidak resmi’ yang membuat jadi terdorong-dorong setiap orang memaksakan lewat. Fals.

Saya melihat logo sebuah universitas besar di Karawaci, yang menjadi universitas swasta termahal bertaraf internasional, yang jurusan desainnya pesat berkembang. Jarak antar huruf dalam logonya tidak berimbang, tidak ditata. Ternyata bikinan Singapura (syukurlah?). Fals.

Kasus lainnya. Majalah inflight magazine maskapai penerbangan lokal dengan ratusan pesawat barunya. Dalam satu edisi, dengan gampang saya temui lebih dari 10 salah ketik. Fals.

Dalam sebuah pameran foto beberapa rekan fotografer fashion. Foto terbingkai dengan berantakan, penuh gelombang karena gelembung udara. Susah pula dinikmati, karena lampu diatas bingkai terpasang terlalu rendah, memantul dengan suksesnya pas di tengah foto. Fals berat.

Ada sejuta hal serupa begitu gampang kita temui di berbagai pelosok Indonesia. Betapa anehnya, mengingat begitu banyak desain tradisional, bahkan primitif, asli Indonesia begitu terbebas dari nada fals, dan penuh dengan harmonisasi dan kesempurnaan. Tidak perlu saya jelaskan lagi contoh-contohnya.

Mengapa demikian? Karena para ‘desainer’ zaman leluhur kita dulu tidak ada yang lahir instan. Bila mereka harus memahat dan mengukir, itu lahir dari ribuan jam memahat dan mengukir, sampai boleh mengklaim dirinya ‘pengukir’. Singkatnya, perfection to excellence adalah kultur yang tergariskan sebelum boleh mengklaim diri.

Eksekusi memang bisa instan, begitu pula olah ide. Akan tetapi, yang namanya kepekaan, intuisi seni dan berbagai hal penting lainnya yang membuat seorang desainer menjadi benar-benar handal tidak akan pernah lahir instan. Itu semua adalah hasil asahan, kecintaan, komitmen serta kepedulian. Kepedulian akan kesempurnaan, yang kian hari semakin langka (karena tidak terlalu dibutuhkan juga?).

Fals terus, lagu tetap melantun.

I love making posters!

The most difficult part of the process was sticking all the stickers to, well, a man’s bare ass. Luckily, it was my own. Unluckily, I prefer to do it myself (to shy to ask for my assistant’s help. It was much easier to shoot naked models, as I have done a thousand times, I realized). It was such a pain in the ass, and some other parts of my body, trying to align the stickers in front of a mirror. You might like the poster, but you won’t like the behind-the-scene fact: a half naked photographer trying to shoot his own ass, wearing only t-shirt and socks, and could barely walk. Don’t imagine it.

PS Thanks to Indonesia Printer and Paperina for making this FGD ‘09 joint promo. May other designers are not inspired to show their body parts too.

Forum Grafika Digital (FGD) Expo 2009, held from 30th July – 2nd August at Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC), has 3 new icons: Publy (representing publication), Packy (packaging) and Printy (printing). We decided to focus on these 3 new kids on the block as our main characters in designing our contributing posters.

The theme is ‘Let’s go to FGD’, showing Publy, Packy and Printy do whatever it takes to be able to attend the expo. All are real location shooting, except for the scene where they jump from one car to another (if it has been a commercial work, I would of course prefer to do it for real; but that would add some cost, which we couldn’t afford ). All were done only a few hundred metres from our studio. It was a quick shooting, as we almost lost the sunlight. We did it in less then half an hour, thanks to my fast-and-furious team, and also to the students who has helped a lot (I know it’s damn hot in the outfits).

Press conference at Poste

Again, endorsing brands has never been my biggest interest. But when a good brand approached you and let you talk about it freely without being obliged to say good things about it, it became interesting. This was my second time endorsing Samsung. The first one was Samsung’s mobile, Innov8.

I see Samsung as a fastest growing electronic brand. I know that Samsung was the brand with the most new models in mobile phone industry, back a couple of years ago. I don’t really know about its monitor market though.

I’ll make this post a short story. Samsung called, I and my team tried the monitor for several days and we finally had a press conference at Poste Restaurant, Jakarta. I was there with two Samsung representative: Budi Santoso (Head of IT Division) and Julius Tjhin (Monitor Product Manager). Budi was very funny. I liked this guy.

What I like about Samsung new LCD monitor: it’s beautifully designed, it’s full HD, it’s comfortable to work with for 9-10 hours a day and it has really good value for money. The downside? I would prefer a stronger construction for the monitor stand. It’s minor though.

I can’t wait to see how Samsung develop its LED market. Really can’t wait. Meanwhile, I guess I better enjoy the new beautiful monitor (and play more game).

For those who happen to be very passionate in their hobbies, opportunities knock, and the door to real business opens.

I love batik!

FGD (Forum Grafika Digital) is the biggest graphic expo in Indonesia, exhibiting the work of designers, photographers, graphic digital producers and many more. First launched in 2003, this forum has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors in its two yearly events in Jakarta. I am glad that I have been a part of it since its first show. This time I was asked to give a mini-seminar with Herman Pratomo, an offset-graphic expert, for the students of Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Informatika & Teknik Komputer (Stikom) Surabaya and Universitas Surabaya (Ubaya).

From hobby to business? Sounds tempting and promising? 90 percent would say yes. How many have done it? Less than 10 percent. Why? Well, because not all of us have hobbies . Once we have it, we might not have enough passion to really make it an important part of our lives. For those who happen to be very passionate in their hobbies, opportunities knock, and the door to real business opens.

Picture this: you wake up in the morning, go to work, do what you like, enjoy it to the fullest and make a living from it. It’s fun. You will of course feel bored sometimes, but it will never be that boring. You will need less time to refresh yourselves. You would even do it without getting paid and still feel satisfied. Things would only get tricky when we have to deal with the business aspects that may suck out the fun and make it complicated, such as dealing with clients, suppliers and not mentioning the competitors. The way I see it? Just accept it. It’s that easy. It’s part of the deal, but hey, it’s worth it.

I’ll talk more about my passion some other time. The main topic was how I started it. Many never heard it, but I never hide it.

It all began in year 2000. I was 24, a cum-laude fresh graduate. I moved to Jakarta as soon as I finished my university in Bandung. I had Rp 2,25 million in my pocket (around USD 200), and I decided to buy an air-con (very smart huh). So, I was broke, but had a cool rented room (no sunlight though). My room was tiny, so small that I had to sleep on a mattress (couldn’t have a proper bed, not enough room).

I spent my first three months looking for a job, found one but moved to another one in three weeks. I quit the second job in three months. A portrait of ideal employee . To be honest, I did plan to stay for at least 2 years, but the temptation to start my own business was too great. In retrospect, I believe that I have made the right decision. Entrepreneurship could only get harder the later you start it. The sooner, the better. When you start with nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.

My first priority was to make a self-promotional item. I made a desk calendar, displaying 13 of my best amateur-era pictures, with zero expense. Sweet deal. Getting more curious? You should.

During my three-month second-job-career, I called a friend of mine who was in charge of a small shop at ITB, my former university. The cute small shop at a corner of my faculty sold souvenirs and university memorabilia to visitors. I offered the shop to sell my calendars on a commission-based deal. They agreed. So I selected my best photos (mostly human interests and landscapes) and asked my former boss to hi-res scan my slides with minimum fee (after all, it was for sell at students’ little shop, right?). I got the scanning for free at the end. I then called the color separation house and asked for a discount (again, the calendar was for students ). I got 50%. Nice. The last step was to negotiate with the printer. I chose the best one in town, and got 70% off. All because of the good will of these good fellows to support the students.

It all started with this

So I printed 500 calendars, and gave 200 to the shop at ITB. All was sold out. And the other 300? I sent them to advertising agencies and corporations in Jakarta. My goal was very simple. If I got only 1% feedback (3 clients out of 300), it would have been enough to start up my business. Only days after sending all the calendars, Conoco Phillips (formerly called Gulf Resources) called. They wanted me to shoot their new site in Grissik, in South Sumatera. I immediately quit my graphic design job and shot for 3 days. The profit was as much as my 2 years salary at that time. I didn’t spend a penny during the whole process. All the expenses incurred in making all the calendars were covered by the profit from selling the 200 calendars at the ITB shop. I even bought my second-hand camera that I used for that first project with the initial payment of that project.

The wanna-be rocker at his first proper office

I ran my first year of entrepreneurship in that little rented room. I made more money than I could have ever expected. Within a year, I moved to my second place (my first ‘proper’ office) in year 2001, after viewing 82 possible houses. It wasn’t easy to find a big house that could be converted into a studio with at a reasonable cost. I hired my first marketing, secretary and courier. 2 years later, I bought a land near my office, and started to design and build my dream studio. On 6th February, 2004, my team and I moved to our 3 storey office-studio, had a big launch party, and continued to pursue our true passion: to make a real change in creative industry in our country. Sounds fun? Have a hobby.