Entrepreneurship: Between Employer and Employee

Billy Boen
CEO of YOT Nusantara, Director at JIM

Since the world is pushing entrepreneurship, people are seeing and expecting themselves to become employers. In 2010, entrepreneurs in Indonesia only marked 0.24 percent from the total population. And today, the number increases to 1.56 percent.

Although the number increases significantly in the past few years, the number is still far below Indonesia's neighbouring countries: Malaysia (5 percent) and Singapore (7 percent).

Why does Indonesia finally realize the importance of entrepreneurship, and tends to increase the number of entrepreneurs throughout the country? The answer is because any country couldn't just depend on their natural resources. "We all know that natural resources will deplete one day", said Billy Boen, CEO of YOT Nusantara and Director at Jakarta International Management.

"Although Indonesia has abundance of natural resources, a country will not develop if it keeps depending on its natural resources," continued Boen. "A country should also depends on its human resources."

The cause of the small number of entrepreneurs in Indonesia is because since the days after the World War II, after Indonesia announced its independence after the Dutch and Japanese colonies, getting a job is a lot easier than creating a job. And since then, families are pushing their children to get high education and become employees in their future. These are common in many families in Indonesia.

Why should I become an entrepreneur and gamble when I can get a job at a company and get a salary from the first month of my career?"

This is the reason why the numbers of employees in Indonesia increases far beyond the number of local entrepreneurs. And sadly, these small numbers of entrepreneurs occasionally put themselves superior than other people that are employees (professionals). "I always deny this kind of opinion. Remember that there are no successful employers without the help of their employees."

Today, the government has succeeded in increasing the number entrepreneurs, and young people are now seeing, and expecting themselves to become entrepreneurs in their future. "This can be felt when I visited numerous Universities. Young people are now eager to become entrepreneurs," explained Boen.

When it comes to a question: which is better, becoming an entrepreneur or a professional? Boen answers: "This is a question that shouldn't be answered because the truth is that, the most important thing for us is doing the best at our own capacity."

"Whichever you choose, you should have a proper vision and mission toward your goal. Whether you want to be an entrepreneur or a professional, what are your reasons?"

"Are you ready to become a successful entrepreneur? Are you ready to become a successful professional? Only you can answer the question," said Boen.

Technology and Internet Entrepreneurs

Since the dot-com bubble burst in the year 2000, Indonesia has less to no impact to its economy in the eyes of technology and internet. But since social media has become a trend, and BlackBerry's Messenger is widely used, the numbers of small to medium businesses (SMB) on the internet grows far beyond expectation.

The internet has reached almost every Indonesian archipelago. And technology has never been so close with the numerous affordable devices available in the market. With almost everyone owns at least a smartphone and a tablet, the ability for SMB to reach the market with social media, blogs, professional/corporate websites was never better.

These SMBs that use technology and the internet as their communication and marketing efforts has seen the lights toward success. Other tech businesses in Indonesia and the number of start-ups are also growing, creating a better ratio between employer and employees.