Trusting Your Hard Work is the Key to Success: a Lesson from Nokha
When running a business, there will always be a point where you have business partners. This may include someone to run your daily operations, accounting, product stock, and many more. The process of obtaining a business partner is quite self-explanatory. It starts from building relationships with them, going through business deals, making a business contract or agreement, and that’s it! However, the golden question is: “How do you manage to put so much trust in a person, maybe even someone you don’t know much about, to help you run your business?”
As much as business management, good strategies, and tactics can help you move your business forward, we can’t deny that it also depends on luck and choosing the right options in every step we take. In reality, we must also accept that the ‘right options’ can be temporary. When this happens, we must remember that there is no one or two right options for your business, and decision-making is an infinite cycle one must go through.
Here is the story of Nopi Hadzic, owner of Nokha, a local fashion brand from Bandung. When Nopi was in the 5th semester of college, she was casually strolling around the mall when a business inspiration struck her. She saw many people were selling custom shoes and felt like this was a good opportunity for her to explore.
Not long after, she first branded her product as Neng Neng Shoes and later changed to Nokha in 2012. The business has been running smoothly after that and Nopi continues to sell shoes for men and women using genuine leather.
Unfortunately, as her business moved forward, Nopi experienced several operational issues. In her line of business, shoemakers and employees are crucial in the production, stock, and sales of the business. After just three months of employing a shoemaker from Cibaduyut, the shoemaker and several employees left the business and took some of Nokha’s business capital. Nopi quickly tried to find a replacement to continue her production but did not find any better luck.
With persistence and optimism, and of course the help of her family, Nopi decided not to give up that easily. She created a workshop in her garage and continued to look for another shoemaker to make outsoles. While looking for more employees, Nopi herself handled many aspects of the business, such as financing, design, product packing, and more.
Fast forward to today, Nokha is now doing very well. Today, Nopi can employ approximately 170 people in production and 20 to 25 people in sales and in the corporate office. Nopi also empowers people with disabilities, housewives, or stay-at-home moms to work for her business so that they can also be breadwinners of the family and have a stable income.
Meanwhile, the pandemic is not stopping Nokha from boosting her sales and profit. Nopi admits that she decided to sell online on Tokopedia to expand her sales channels and widen her customer base. Her sales have even increased over 100% — 200% as compared to before the pandemic.
“Nokha’s transaction in Tokopedia increased 3x in 2021 compared to the year before. By frequently joining campaigns in Tokopedia, such as WIB, Jakarta Sneakers Day, Women in Bazaar, and Women in Style, Nokha has even produced up to 800 shoe orders in just 2 days!”
Nopi also messaged other fellow business owners or people who aspire to be business owners.
“Never feel satisfied or feel too comfortable with what you have or where you are now. Be brave to try things out, make mistakes, and even sometimes fail. Don’t be afraid of failure, as failure is a big part of our success.”
What’s the main takeaway from this story? Don’t place all your trust in someone else to help you run your business, but instead put even more trust in your business idea, its potential to fulfill customers’ needs and succeed in the future. With that in mind, you may find a common thread among Tokopedia’s great sellers, which is their high spirit to keep going and reach success.
To the future or existing business owners, just like Nopi Hadzic, keep your head high! Passing you the teachings from Tokopedia’s 3 DNA (#FocusOnConsumer, #GrowthMindset, and #MakeItHappenMakeItBetter) to stay focused, dream high, and be victorious against all odds.
