CERITA PENGALAMAN GAGAL SAYA INVESTASI MESIN 10 MILYAR

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares their personal experience of investing in a photo book printing business with a 10 billion IDR machine, only to face failure. They discuss the importance of testing markets and gathering data before committing to large investments. Despite the initial setback, they learn from their mistakes and successfully pivot to the fragrance industry, where they saw a threefold increase in sales in just one year. The speaker emphasizes that failure is a normal part of entrepreneurship, as long as lessons are learned and applied to future ventures.

Takeaways

• 😀 Be prepared to face failures: Not all entrepreneurial ventures are guaranteed to succeed. It's important to learn from both success and failure.
• 😀 Test the market before going all-in: Before investing large amounts, it's crucial to test the demand for your product to avoid unnecessary risks.
• 😀 Innovation is key: To scale your business, offering new products like photobooks or other creative ideas can be a good way to attract more customers.
• 😀 Understand the risks of large investments: Make sure to evaluate the financial and market risks before making big purchases like machinery.
• 😀 Use data, not just optimism: Relying on data to make decisions is essential, rather than only having an optimistic mindset without sufficient data.
• 😀 Reevaluate business strategies: If initial plans don't yield the expected results, it's important to pivot or adjust your approach rather than giving up.
• 😀 Repeat orders are a key indicator: Pay attention to customer retention and repeat orders to assess whether the product truly meets their needs.
• 😀 Learning from failures: Each failure teaches important lessons that can improve future business decisions and lead to eventual success.
• 😀 Leverage available data: Collect and analyze data from competitors, customers, and the industry to make informed decisions about your business direction.
• 😀 Failure is a part of entrepreneurship: Accept that setbacks and failures are common, and instead of quitting, learn from them to improve your future ventures.

Q & A

What was the main reason for the speaker's failure in their business venture?

The speaker's failure in their business venture was due to an incorrect market size and a lack of repeat orders from customers. Despite the success of photobooks in developed countries, the demand in Indonesia was too small to achieve the revenue targets.

What was the speaker's initial investment, and what was the business idea behind it?

The speaker invested 10 billion IDR in a high-quality printing machine to enter the photobook industry. The idea was to print custom photo books, targeting people who wanted to preserve their photos in a tangible form.

Why did the speaker choose to buy a digital printing machine?

The speaker chose to buy a digital printing machine because it could print photos one at a time, which was suitable for the photobook business where every customer’s order would be different.

How did the speaker approach the purchase decision for the machine?

The speaker carefully researched the market, visited Singapore to see a demo of the machine, and made the purchase using all their savings, hoping it would help achieve significant revenue growth.

What is the difference between an offset printing machine and a digital printing machine?

An offset printing machine is used for large volume print runs with a lower unit cost, whereas a digital printing machine allows for single-unit prints but at a higher price per unit.

What external factor impacted the business negatively after the investment?

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the business, as fewer people were traveling and thus not printing photos, reducing demand for the photobooks.

What critical lesson did the speaker learn from their failure?

The speaker learned the importance of testing the market first and gathering data before making large investments. They realized that optimism alone was not enough to drive business success.

What strategy would the speaker suggest to others before starting a business?

The speaker suggests testing the market on a small scale first by selling to a few customers to gauge demand and repeat orders. This would help avoid over-investing without sufficient data.

How did the speaker recover from their failure and succeed later in another industry?

The speaker applied the lessons learned from their failure, including data-driven decision-making, to their next business venture in the fragrance industry. This time, they achieved success, selling 100,000 units in three months.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the importance of data in business?

The speaker emphasizes that success in business requires data, not just optimism. They recommend conducting surveys, analyzing competitors, and purchasing market data to understand the industry's potential before making large investments.