in Bisnis, General

Awesome! This guy make his business run well only on short time, this is his “secret”

His Name is Wisnu Hafid. He is from Bandung, the most comfortable city in Indonesia, specially for doing software coding, lot of Software House in this city, even their City States support this by building public techno facility. Lot of amazing places here, you can do some coding activity in the cafe, lounge, heritage, even in the nature like waterfall, lake, beach, etc. It’s like Silicon Valley from Indonesia.

“Code is become part of my life. Code is my breathe. Without it, I can’t live.” He said that in his website. A true man that love coding so much, he use his skill & teaching ability to share and make each his students find better life.

He learned coding first when in a senior high school named SMKN 4 Bandung, also learned all IT things like Hardware, Software, and Network, but He focused in Website development, especially in PHP Language, HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Beside coding he can do Design work too, UI/UX, even SEO and Agile Project Management.

He has an amazing motto in his life “If others can do, I can do too” that’s why he become what he is now. he said “Steve Jobs have Apple, Bill Gates have Microsoft, Larry Pages have Google, Why I can’t have one ?”

Wisnu start his coding journey as official Website Programmer in company named PT Asian Brain Internet Marketing Center in 2006, he learn lot of SEO things here with SEO master from Indonesia, Anne Ahira, his former boss. If you are SEO master, then you will know her name. It’s like SEO mother of Indonesia.

From this SEO knowledge, he then create an online shop called Ichigo Online, that has running from 2010 until now, he built the website design & system by himself. He love Kamen Rider, and no business that is enjoy other than selling a hobby. He sell lot of accessories of Kamen Rider, from film, jacket, t-shirt, belt, action figure, etc. Even he can held an outstanding wedding ceremony worthed about 100 Million Rupiah, all from Ichigo Online income. Even his friends ask him “How come you have that much money with only 2m salary a month?“, then he reply with “If you have serious intention and ask your God to help, then there’s nothing can stop HE giving us proper way to reach that serious intention”

His parent is not a rich people, he inherit a business things from his Grandfather, a veteran soldier who run chicken breed business in Lembang, Bandung. He learn a lot of business when he was kid until his Grandfather passed away.

Running Ichigo Online & working as programmer in Asian Brain make him not feel good, and he want to focus on one, so he decided to resign and start focusing on his business.

But running business is not an easy one, he got lot of bad experience, such as cheated by jacket vendors, loss lot of money because of that, also the cash flow is not good because lot of his customers want to refund the money.

This make Wisnu thinking of working again in IT to support his family monthly bills and help Ichigo Online revived, and then he work and start a journey again at PO. Bhinneka Sangkuriang but not for long because he feel the management is bad, he apply as web programmer, but he work like technical support on all tasks from coding, design, network, hardware, etc.

In that struggle, he pray to God, to make his way more smooth, and then his classmate “Ihsan” contact and want him to join the Paseban, the most notable startups of News Portal, Social Media, and Apps in Bandung, now is Plimbi.

In his free time in the weekend, he also help his friend doing website development for 4 Vision Media, Bandung Web Design, and Java Web Solution. By helping about 5 years for them, he already made a hundreds of website portfolios, hundred cases, ton of stress, and this is that make him a Real Professional & Experts in Website Development.

He also have working on PT. Walden Global Services (WGS) as Senior PHP Programmer, one of biggest Software House in Bandung, until he resign because the too strict work culture & managerial, he is not a kind of people that can follow & accept the rules, especially the programming work that can’t be treat like Bank Teller or Customer Services work.

From his friends in WGS, he know the online community of remote workers. The people who work online from home. And then he got Helpguru PTE.Ltd, startup company from Singapore, he play as the only one Fullstack Developer work there, build & maintenance the helpguru.sg from his home.

Time passed by, the investor stop the investment as the business not running well, and Wisnu got no payment from helpguru again. And this make him think “How to cover my monthly bills that is around 10 millions”. So he decided to focus on the business, because he think no company want to hire a veteran like him.

In the end of 2015, He is bootstraping a small company called WebHade Creative as a backup, because he feel uneasy with helpguru projects, and his feeling was right. Together with his mentor Randi, he ran an Android based application named IMP, Event Management App, he gather his friends from past work office and school, and got 6 people under him to develop it for about 6 months. But the application is not finish because all android programmers became lost contact and make him very down, because this application failed to launch and become the official app for all Radio Station in Java Island, Indonesia. He then postponed this IMP projects, and decided to continue later when find a best team to do this.

This not make Wisnu down, once again, he revived with Crazy Idea, to built a website builder like Wix, combined with Template Monster, and Freelancer, that he launch in Webhade.com

But the business is not going well, because lack of features as he develop by himself, lot of customers confused about WebHade services. So then he postponed it again, but keep the domain online. Because he still have optimism that if this projects come to real world, it will help a lot business in the world, and open an opportunity to the designer & programmer, even content writers, photographers around the world, not only in Indonesia.

In mid 2016, He settle seriously WebHade Creative, and now it has a team in Bandung and remote team in Jogjakarta, that help him do software development for his clients. He called him team “family” that’s why peoples that followed him is like a brothers & sisters to him.

Based on the Muslim terms, “all muslim are brothers”, he make all people that he met a family, whether they’re muslim or not, he treat them like a close family. He is easy going, he like helping people, listening their problem and give some suggestion and motivation to help them make it solve or make it better than now.

At the end of 2016, Wisnu give his first online & offline lecture for PHP Object Oriented Programming from basic for PHP Indonesia Community and this is the beginning of his teaching career.

Offline PHP OOP Lecture in PHP Indonesia Bandung

In early 2017, he open a Website Free Course to help peoples with zero knowledge of website development can make their own website for their personal or business. The target is all participant can do Web Design & Coding. He started the first course in the Dance Studio in Surapati Core Area with the help of his friend “Randi”, his first mentor of business life.

More than 30 peoples participated, and this is only 30% from the total peoples that filling out the Registration Form he shared which is more than 100 peoples. He make the Free Course happen with great result and still active until now.

After class in Dance Studio, He continue giving lecture online via Facebook Group, and his students become real fast website developer in no time with his out of the box teaching method.

In the meantime, He become struggle with the course place problem, but he not stop trying, he pray, always pray to his God, Allah, to give everything in smooth way, and not long after that, his friend “Rangga” that work in SMK BPI Bandung, offer him a Computer Labs to support his Free Course program.

He teach the Web Design student of SMK BPI first, and their teacher “Pak Nuki” see his amazing teaching talent, and offer him to continue the Free Course in their Computer Labs.

With this unpredictable help, he open 2nd Free Course program with total of 80 more students that he split by two parts, twice a month in the Sunday. He teach all of this participant with easy & fun way to understand the website design & coding basic to advanced.

Even, WebHade Creative got selected for became invigilator of National Exam (UJIKOM) in SMK BPI Bandung for Web Design & Android Mobile Programming student exam, together with PT SEMUT, the PHP Sub Division of PT. Walden Global Services, his former company that worked on.

He also make some video tutorial for making his students can learn in their home, because he feel the course time is not enough only in class. He post his video on the Youtube, so not only the Free Course participant can learn, but also all people in the internet can learn with his awesome teaching methods.

After he finished the Free Course program for about 6 months, he is selecting some of them that have a good potential in web development, and ask them to join in his company as a team, to make their life better. The first meetup is held at “Akhmad Rafi” his Backend Developers’s house in Cibiru, and they start their business journey until now together.

Now he has a solid team, that help him finished the projects. And this team that make Wisnu want to expand more his company to the fullest. He actively join in community for business, coding, meetup some old friends, attending in notable events. All he do is to gain relationship with peoples and open an opportunity. Because he always remember his religion teacher when kids says “Silaturahmi menyambung rezeki” in english “Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it”.

PHP Indonesia Bandung community meetup

Meeting with old friends

Attending in Government event for PPBT 2017 in Jakarta

Buka Puasa Bersama with PHP Indonesia Community, meet with Peter J Kambey, President of PHP Indonesia, Ken Ratri, CEO of Geek Hunter, Glend Maatita CHRO of Refactory, and Esa Putra Tanjung, CEO of Waktuku.com

Because of his high effort and surely with Allah help he got a big project from his friend “Iman” from PHP Indonesia Community, to help him making ICT Grand Design document for Lembaga Administrasi Negara (LAN), with help of his old classmate “Erwin” that is good in analytical.

LAN Project documentation

Even tough he doesn’t have an office yet, that’s not make him stop, he use his house as a place for team meetup, he setup a workspace for them, so they can work there. All only for his team working better, because he always treat they as his family.

But all not running smooth enough, lot of struggle happen, and this is when you running a business. Once again, he pray to his God, Allah, to make his business growing, he ask a solution for this situation. Not to long, Allah reply his pray through his senior in SMK 4, “Yayan” CTO of PT. HYDANT INOVASI SEMESTA, to supporting their website development business.

we call this “The Investors” 😀 SMK 4 Bandung alumni, From left to right: Yayan, Andi, Amri, Agus, Wisnu

From HYDANT, he got a connection from his old friend in SMK 4, like making a website for his senior, “Agus Setyanto”, for his Computer Rental business named Technorent, even Agus ask Wisnu to use his 2nd floor shop as temporary office for WebHade Creative, so the teams can work even better.

As WebHade Creative motto “Simplify your business need”, Wisnu make a genius plan to make all business in Indonesia became simple through information technology, he target the UMKM (Usaha Mikro Kecil Menegah) sector, and currently building a platform to make this all creative business became more efficient. But he is not have a business background, all in his head is Technical Things, so he keep learning from his business friends, asking the businessman near his house, attending in business events like Google Gapura Digital, all he do is to learn what is this business real problem, and what he can solve using the technology.

Google Gapura Digital Bandung

In the mean time, Wisnu register the Google My Business for WebHade Creative, and setting minimum SEO optimization in the web pages, this help them promote a little of their business, and amazingly, with God help, some of notable clients contact them like RON88 Mineral Water, one of the biggest brand mineral water in Indonesia together with AQUA and Vit, they need an Android & IOS application for their campaign. Also Rumah Sakit Advent Bandung, one of the notable hospital in Bandung, they want to redesign their website, even Wisnu make a prototype of the landing page design, in the night before the presentation, to gain their interest. But because WebHade still small company, this big clients not choose WebHade Creative as their partners. Once again, this not make Wisnu down, but this make a mood booster to him for running his business more seriously.

Selfie after meeting client & interviewing the local business problem in Bandung

the one night landing page design prototype for advent hospital website created by Wisnu

Wisnu always treat his clients like a jewel, the special one, so he keep them feel comfortable with him, and he always believe that if we good to other people it will open an opportunity, maybe not now, maybe in the future. And this is really happen to him. Lot of new website project come to WebHade Creative are from his old clients that he keep contact with him. Until now WebHade Creative is not using ads or even do SEO optimization to promote their business.

As time flow, recently from PT. HYDANT, Wisnu got another 2 super big clients, NDHI (National Defence & High Technology Industry) and NSHI (National Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries), WebHade Creative are pushed to the limit developing this 2 websites, which has tight deadline & VIP priority. This clients are a holding company for 12 SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) or BUMN (Badan Usaha Milik Negara), they are:

  1. PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero)
  2. PT Pindad (Persero)
  3. PT Len Industri (Persero)
  4. PT Industri Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero),
  5. PT Industri Nuklir Indonesia (Persero)
  6. PT Dahana (Persero)
  7. PT PAL Indonesia (Persero)
  8. PT Dok & Perkapalan Kodja Bahari (Persero)
  9. PT Dok Perkapalan Surabaya (Persero)
  10. PT Industri Kapal Indonesia (Persero)
  11. PT Barata Indonesia (Persero)
  12. PT Boma Bisma Indra (Persero)

They’re really BIG companies in Indonesia, and WebHade Creative who just a small bootstrap company hiding behind name of PT. HYDANT, are doing very best to make them a cool, secure, and professional website, which is successfully launched in Ritech Expo 2017 event and got reviewed by Indonesia Vice Presiden Jusuf Kalla.

the demo presentation of NDHI website

He also want to make everyone working with him, fun, can be anywhere, and no secret between them, because they are family to each others not just boss and their employees. He always take his team to meet up with clients to experience directly how to be good & professional people, and after meetup, sometimes he bring them to a simple vacation or just eating in the nature, to refresh the brain from the stress of work.

This is his journey, from “no one” to “the one”, and his journey is not over yet.

See you in the next story, and Have a good weekend !

Thanks for reading

Write a Comment

Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.