Three Financial Approaches

There are many obstacles in building a business. Yes, it’s not an easy way, even if it’s walked for years. We should take many lessons through it, and when you don’t take heed to it you won’t be able to reach newer and more dynamic markets. One of them is how to approach. In Indonesia, I saw that there are three financial approaches.

First, professional.

It keeps the professional ethics which is straight-forward and assertive in appreciating someone. This is indeed the strength of this approach. But, I saw in the culture of Indonesia, it’s considered to be too rigid, therefore many feared a person or a company using this approach. It’s caused by strong kinship culture in Indonesia, which is diametrically opposite of this approach.

Second, kinship.

This is the opposite of the first above way to approach, wherein rigidness and assertive procedures are entirely or partially avoided, from negotiation, pricing and many more, so it’s very useful for a small company or a startup company. But for your knowledge, in Indonesia, money is a rather sensitive issue (it’s like asking about someone’s age or religion maybe in your country?) so even in a big company, this approach is used in negotiation. This is where an employee or a subordinate could see his/her leader’s decisions for the company. Actually, if we think about growth of a company, when it gets larger, its demands too. Some companies instead adds the responsibility of its workers when it gets larger under the reason of maximalizing the workers’ potentials (because they’re not maximalizing theirs). It’s different than some of my friends in a well-developed country like the U.S., Australia, Japan and some European countries. The more a company grow, it logically adds employees because of more demands and responsibilities, but each of the employees are demanded to develop themselves in the part they’re working in.

Third, hybrid of those two.

This approach is used by foreign businesses or companies expanding its business in Indonesia. They want to give their workers their portions, but they want to become their employees’ ‘family’.  This makes them feel comfortable with this situation. Many capitalists in Indonesia uses that second approach in their companies’ beginning to their success. But the subordinates still want it, maybe it’s because of their family relationship to the leaders, even if the government make more chance and encourage the people to open their own businesses. It’s more a mentality and lack-of-knowledge problems which couldn’t be forced into the people’s mind.

Finally I hope this could be your consideration in starting a new business in Indonesia.