For the last two decades, we have witnessed the progression of The era of the Internet of Things. Data collected by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) states that there were 215.63 million internet users in Indonesia during the 2022-2023 period. This number is absolute proof that the majority of Indonesian people already acquired technology literacy.
The convenience of surfing in cyberspace has certainly added a new challenge to the national and international business climate. The younger generation nowadays is not only able to obtain knowledge from top entrepreneurial business schools, such as Universitas Prasetiya Mulya (Prasmul), various digital learning media are just as easily accessible as a new means of gaining knowledge.
The dream to become a successful young entrepreneur can be actualized smoothly if you understand and apply the following digital-era business strategies:
Besides academically, business knowledge can be obtained from various sources. However, in terms of learning the proper ways to do business, choosing the right major would certainly be beneficial. Prasmul, with its hybrid learning methods, is ready to help students adapt to the development of the digital world. Adequate provision during college will no doubt prepare the students to be more agile in choosing effective strategies for starting a business.
It is a must to start building and establishing professional relationships in college. Every golden opportunity must be utilized so that this useful network will be beneficial for any future business development.
For instance, students should establish good relations with college friends who already have a business. At the same time, students must actively build a community within the Student Activity Unit (UKM) according to their interests.
It might seem small, but established relationships during college can in fact contribute to the success of any future business, especially if they are based on a healthy mutualistic symbiosis. Equipping oneself with various soft skills that are shared by relationships to support business planning is also mandatory. Those include marketing, leadership, problem-solving, ethics, and networking skills.
The Observe, Imitate, Modify (ATM) technique might seem as a classic move in the business world. However, this technique is actually highly effective for supporting a success of a business, including business in the digital era.
With the current assistance of the internet, people have higher opportunities to observe competitors or other business players in numerous practical fields. Applying the ATM technique is now certainly much easier in comparison to decades ago when the internet did not yet exist.
Spend time to observe other business mechanisms and strategies; especially competitors’. The observation results then must be used to evaluate one own business. Maintain the good sides of the business while fixing the shortcomings. By doing continuous improvements on your own business, there is a high possibility to outperform competitors in a near future.
The proper use of social media platforms is considered a major factor to determine the success of a business in the digital era. In this modern era, any line of business, starting from MSMEs, startups, to corporate companies, already has social media accounts.
Therefore, taking advantage of social media platform in supporting business activities is now considered a necessity. Social media is not only used as a promotional and marketing tool, it can also be used as a platform for building strong business branding. Optimum utilization of social media will result in a more popular business because the business is able to create a unique character and is able to grab the attention of netizens.
A business that is able to survive is one that is oriented towards most current trends and customer needs. Doing business is not about realizing the owner’s personal idealism. Instead, business owners must understand customers’ needs or tastes and the most updated trends.
For example, because of customers’ preference in spicy food, a cafe business owner includes a variety of spicy food choices in the menu in his startup business. Customers will certainly feel happy if their taste preference is met. This will result in their loyalty to the business.
Setiawan Kusmulyono, the Program Manager of S1 Business Study Program at Prasmul, stated that business values must be properly maintained in the digital era. The digitalization transformation should only act as a medium that enhances business processes. Therefore, the business foundation and the added value must be strengthened and continuously increased to cater customers’ liking and needs.
Mr. Kusmulyono also stated that digital literacy is important for running a business in modern times. Simple things, such as the ability to operate electronic mail, do e-commerce transactions, and run digital security protocols (creating usernames and passwords) are the minimum digital literacy skills that any business must acquire.
All the above strategies should be accompanied by the commitment to strengthen positive branding in the eyes of customers. The dream of becoming a young successful entrepreneur must be supported by a passion for continuous learning so that the younger generation can produce success businesses in this digital era. Learn how to start a successful business while you are in college! Start young, start now!
