Back in writing business

Committing to writing about start-ups is as easy as committing to having children. It will pan out, and make sense much later, but it takes a while to convince myself. I guess if everything fails, I can make a living out of talking about my failures: speaking engagements and book deals.

Since summer 2012, there was one trip to Indonesia, hiring of two employees and solidifying the direction for  Sarjana.co.id. [I realize I haven't been clear about my venture(s) previously on this blog, but I will rely on your research skills.] Sarjana.co.id has indeed built credibility and awareness in East Java, among students, high schools, and universities. We've joined hands with large universities in their events (competitions and admission testing).

Looking back, the crew of Sarjana.co.id survived so many uncertainties.

Hiring was not easy! As a start-up we've been lucky to have hired a few who really believe in the vision and prospects of Sarjana.co.id. We had quite many no-shows, people who turned down offers or bailed in the last minute before their first day of work. Job creation seems like Cinderella's dream; it happens smoothly only with miracles. Thanks to public figures who convinced me to believe in it.

I learned how to sell the vision of the venture like selling to a potential client or investor. Hires do take risks when joining a start-up like mine, with big altruistic dreams, and they spend their time and energy not knowing how their work will be perceived by our target market or other employers in the future. Now that I have a few retained, I need to be religiously reading about human resource and talent management, on top of ... (no, I shouldn't go there).

The direction that Sarjana.co.id is now taking, after quite the uncertain times, is a collective challenge for the team. It's finally grounded, where we have subtracted from the multitude of ideas that I have had to a few. We specialize in serving member universities and using the network we are building to provide marketing-related services. Focus is scary, because it may be make-it-or-break-it, but that's what is prescribed for many, many good reasons. I have yet shared the whole picture with the crew, which is probably not a good practice, but what's on our plates now is enough to keep all of us occupied.

The big question that I should try hard to answer is, what do I want to get out of investing in blogging?

Everybody is now talking about 'big data'. Well, the words on my blog posts will be 'big data' somebody. One can analyze how I loved and dreaded different parts of growing my ventures.

My mind wanders, my mood affects decision making, and my ambition doesn't help me focus. So I can probably and hopefully keep myself in check by writing about the paths that I take, which at this point affect Sarjana.co.id users' perception and the jobs  that have been created out of my ideas.