It's time for the "Solopreneur" to shine
"Solopreneur" can be an alternative for people who have difficulty getting or maintaining work.
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Chief Business Digital Officer of PT Bank Jasa Jakarta (Bank Saqu), Angela Lew Darmawan, spoke at the launch event of the Bank Saqu Solopreneur Academy together with the Endeavour Indonesia entrepreneurial community, in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/4/2024).
Amid economic instability and technological disruption, the need for employees in large industries is decreasing. A recent report entitled "Talent Acquisition Insights 2024" by Mercer Mettl found that 69 percent of companies in Indonesia are not hiring new employees or implementing recruitment freezes throughout 2023.
Along with that, 23 percent of companies in Indonesia conducted layoffs in 2023, compared to the global average of 32 percent. A survey conducted on more than 750 human resources (HR) professionals in more than 20 industries in Indonesia concluded that the majority of companies are increasingly concerned about the potential for layoffs in the future.
Reading these trends, setting up your own business or becoming a solopreneur could be a way out for those who have difficulty getting or keeping a job. Quoting The Economic Times and Merriam-Webster, solopreneurs are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who independently build businesses on a scale. small. This also includes the meaning of starting and running a business alone.
Quoting the website of the United States Chamber of Commerce and Industry, there are many advantages to being a solopreneur who starts a business alone. The biggest attraction is the low level of financial risk because there is no need to recruit employees who need to be paid. Expenditures are also relatively low. Solopreneurs also have a high level of control over their business so they can decide working hours and work environments as flexibly as possible.
A study by the Segara Research Institute in collaboration with Saqu Bank said that solopreneurs are generally born from those who work as freelancers. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) as of August 2022 shows that in Indonesia there are 34.13 million freelance workers.
"In Indonesia now all productivity or business segments are very much directed towards solopreneurs, whether entrepreneurial work or side jobs to achieve their dreams financially or to balance their lives," said Chief Business Digital PT Bank Jasa Jakarta (Bank Saqu) Officer Angela Lew Darmawan, at the launch of the Bank Saqu Solopreneur Academy with the entrepreneurial community Endeavor Indonesia, in Jakarta, Wednesday (24/4/2024).
Graphics and research data from the Segara Research Institute in collaboration with Bank Saqu regarding solopreneur protection in Indonesia.
Their research predicts that 117.24 million people will become solopreneurs in 2030, either as their main career or as a side job. This means that one in three of Indonesia's population has the potential to become a solopreneur.
It is estimated that 52.3 percent of job opportunities will be created by solopreneurs in 2023. This opportunity is expected to slightly increase to 52.44 percent in 2030.
Even though they work independently, solopreneurs contribute to the country's economy and add new job opportunities. In 2023, the contribution of solopreneurs is projected to be 33 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) or around half of the contribution of all MSMEs to GDP which is 62 percent. Their contribution is expected to increase to 37 percent by 2030.
Solopreneurs who are able to develop their business will have the opportunity to provide jobs for the community. It is estimated that 52.3 percent of job opportunities will be created by solopreneurs in 2023. These opportunities will increase slightly to 52.44 percent in 2030.
On the other hand, it is acknowledged that solopreneur development itself will still focus on Java. Apart from the high population level, telecommunications and information infrastructure support is also still better than in areas outside Java.
Business trends
Solopreneur and growth expert, Cagri Sarigoz, on his site, BizStack, writes about his findings regarding the development of solopreneurship. Quoted on Wednesday (24/4/2024), he said that recently solopreneurship actors are no longer dominated by young people who have lots of creative ideas and dare to challenge the world of work in traditional companies.
"New statistics show that half of the current self-employed entrepreneurs are over 35 years old. This demonstrates that these experienced professionals have become independent in their business regardless of their age," he said.
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Workers are forging bracelet crafts with a mixture of silver and copper at the Unique Silver handicraft industry in Basen Village, Purbayan Sub-district, Kotagede, Yogyakarta on Monday (1/4/2024). This small and medium-sized enterprise produces dozens of rings each month using approximately one kilogram of silver raw materials.
Solopreneurs are also not limited to those who have obstacles in obtaining higher education making it difficult to get a job in a company. Currently, many solopreneurs are born with a higher level of education.
"This enables them to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to build strong and resilient independent businesses that are capable of developing amidst economic fluctuations and uncertainty," said Sarigoz.
Another interesting finding is that only 10 percent of solopreneurs are in technology-related fields. This dispels the perception that solopreneurs are born out of interest in developing businesses in the technology sector. From studies in the United States, the majority of entrepreneurs started their journey in the healthcare, construction, and retail sectors.
Syifa Zakia, Head of Entrepreneur Experience Endeavor Indonesia, also read about the same phenomenon in Indonesia. According to Syifa, the growing number of solopreneurs currently does not only work in the technology sector. With diverse market needs in Indonesia, solopreneurs are trying out many creative fields targeting the retail consumer market.
"Indonesia is strong in fields related to retail consumers, whatever the form, from fashion to F&B (food and beverage/food and drink)," he said in a joint event Saqu Bank.
Self-development
In the midst of the boom in this type of business, solopreneurs face various challenges. These challenges are generally related to mindset, ability to manage finances, and finding business partners to "move up".
“The first problem is usually your mindset. "That's why, we encourage entrepreneurs to dream big, be willing to learn from others, and build a team and have an organizational culture so they can grow together at every stage," continued Syifa.
According to Yonas, managing personal and business finances is a basic skill that solopreneurs must possess before managing more complex business finances.
When met on the same occasion, Endeavor Indonesia's Business Development and Marketing Communication Manager Yonas Christian said that the ability that often becomes an obstacle for solopreneurs being able to run a business sustainably is managing finances. Managing personal and business finances, according to Yonas, is a basic skill that solopreneurs must have before managing more complex business finances.
"Usually solopreneurs don't want to bother using a bank or buying capital using their own money. In fact, that's a super duper big no. Business founders must be able to prosper themselves. The business couldn't run, but the founder's personal finances were struggling. "This is what ultimately makes his business unsustainable, so he ends up looking for new business," said Yonas.
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Workers are packing krupuk at the Bu Ipik MSME in Palbapang Village, Bantul District, Bantul Regency, DI Yogyakarta, on Saturday (23/3/2024). The krupuk, made from buffalo and cow leather imported from Sulawesi, is sold for IDR 95,000 to IDR 150,000 per kilogram.
Another skill that is worth learning as a solopreneur is looking for suitable business partners if you need to develop your business. Different from ordinary employees, coworkers are useful for helping with various strategic business tasks that will become increasingly complex according to business development, such as product development, marketing, finance and human resources.
"If we continue to be alone, humans will definitely have limitations. No one can be 100 percent smart in finance, marketing, etc. "Therefore, there must be business partners coming in so that the business can grow quickly, even though this is tricky because looking for a business partner is not like looking for a friend," he said.
For this reason, solopreneurs need to be open to increasing their knowledge by taking part in training and expanding their network to become empowered. By continuing to develop themselves, solopreneurs can shine not only for themselves, but also help the national economy.
