THE HUMBLE ENTREPRENEUR SERIES 2: VIVIDERM & IWIN INSANI

Sometimes, life brings us together with a best friend on a plane journey. As someone who believes that nothing in our lives is a coincidence, Iwin Insani's success relies on hard work and diligence. In this article I want to introduce you to a wonderful person whom I met on a plane many years ago. We were sitting next to each other and she asked where I was from. I said that I am from Turkey and she threw me a beautiful smile because she had lived in Göcek, a beautiful beach town in Turkey's Aegean.

A visionary entrepreneur, she is an inspiration to many. Born in Lombok, Iwin lived in diverse cultures such as Turkey and China. She is a well travelled , intelligent woman with a focus on sustainable, organic products. Her story started with a human resource agency idea to fill in an important gap in the tourism area in NTB region. She then went on to producing aromatic organic soaps and sustainable, reef safe sunblocks, all of which became a huge success.

She is now expanding her product range with jams and chocolate with ingredients sourced from Lombok island, where she lives. DalyaNews spoke to humble and beautiful Iwin Insani about her success story.

Mrs. Iwin, can you tell our readers about your story as a female entrepreneur in Lombok, Indonesia

Since I was a teenager I had trouble getting to sleep at night. My mind is very active at those hours. Lots of ideas, plans and questions that flow about organising my next day.

Because I could not sleep, I read a lot of articles and watched tutorial videos late into the night. The idea of ​​doing business originally emerged from this habit.

In 2015, with the support of my husband, I ventured to open a villa rental business. There are several rooms that can be rented out at our home. Unexpectedly, this business went well, especially in the high season for tourism in Lombok. Unfortunately, I had to stop the villa rental business temporarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After the villa rental business was running stable, I felt that I still had a lot of free time. I saw a business opportunity in the field of employee recruitment for the tourism industry in Lombok.

So I started a recruitment agency to help hotels and restaurants find commited and reliable employees. I remember that time my husband helped me in the initial draft of the contract I was using. Having no experience managing this kind of business before, I spent my insomnia nights studying and asking to more experienced people.

While I was running my tourism recruitment business, I also followed tutorials on making soap and sunscreen on the internet. Many times my soaps failed and had to be thrown away. But when I found the formula that worked I was very happy. The soap and sunblock were then distributed to my closest friends and family.

By 2018, I had begun to believe in my soap and sunblock formula. Along with a business partner, I began marketing my products to several dive shops in Lombok and the Gili islands. I also participated in several festivals to introduce the products to the market. The sales were very good.

Then, one day my business partner decided not to work with me anymore. There were several hundred packs of my sunblock that he didn't pay for and that made me sad. From there I was determined to build the right company and factory. I dealt with all kinds of permits and worked to fulfill all the requirements. At present my company is running quite well and we deliver orders to several places in Indonesia.

You own a business and a factory for soap, sunscreen and other organic products. Why did you choose to focus on this niche?

I have a lot of friends who focus on environmental issues. It was my friends who initially influenced my choice to focus on natural products.

Besides that, with these natural products, I don't need to feel sorry for the environment. I can also play a role in protecting the environment, especially in Lombok as an exotic and beautiful tourist destination.

One of my best products is the natural sunblock. This product is very safe for coral reefs because it does not use oxybenzone which can kill the coral. This product is great for everyday use. The ingredients I use come from local farmers and communities from Lombok and Kalimantan.

In my opinion, maintaining the health of our skin is as important as preserving coral reefs and helping our local farmers.

Are you going to export your product abroad?

I am currently in the final stage of arranging an export permit for my products. Since the end of last year, there have been several distributors who offered to sell my products overseas, such as Portugal, Australia, Denmark to Hawaii in America.

I plan to start marketing my product overseas later this year or early next year depending on the speed or recovery of the markets after Covid-19.

I hope to export my products to other countries such as Turkey and Japan and Korea some day too.

Finally, what are your suggestions for women entrepreneurs in Indonesia?

My first suggestion is; start now! Don't weigh things too much or plan too long. The problem is whether or not business experience can be learned on action.

My second suggestion is don't be afraid of failure. A failed step is a mandatory experience in business. From those mistakes we learn. I don't think there is a perfectly flowing business in the beginning. All experienced entrepreneurs fail at some stage and learn from mistakes. As long as we don't give up, there is a way to success.

My final suggestion is to register your business with the relevant service or institution by taking care of permits and meeting the regulations set by the government. This phase is a complicated process sometimes because there are a lot of documents to be taken care of. But after you get your permissions, things are easy and safe so you can just focus on growing your business.