Daniel Mananta Shared His Success as an Entrepreneur

Himpunan Mahasiswa Jurusan Ilmu Komunikasi ? HMJ Ilkom (Communication Sciences Student Council) held an Entrepreneurship Talk Show with Daniel Mananta, former MTV VJ and Indonesia Idol 2014 host, as the featured speaker. Daniel is now acknowledged as one of the successful young entrepreneurs. His achievement can be seen through his own fashion brand named ?DAMN! I Love Indonesia?. He shared the story behind his own created brand in this talk show.

Before building his brand into a big hit, Daniel admitted that he had failed several times. One of them was days where almost 100 companies rejected his application after he just graduated from a university in Australia. Afterwards, he took up various kinds of jobs that he could put his hand to, from restaurant waiter, toilet cleaner to multi-level marketing agent. Eventually, he returned to Indonesia and finally found his passion, ?to talk in front of many people?, or known as ?presenter?.

During his days in Australia, he learnt how to be true to himself and to accept all of his shortcomings and strong points. ?The experience shaped my characters. Secondly, I can now stand as I am because of my parents. I am really grateful that my parents have built a strong foundation within myself. They taught me many important values, both life and spiritual, so that I am not easily swayed with negative influences,? he said.

Daniel explained the concept of ‘DAMN I Love Indonesia’.

Promotion strategy by utilizing celebrities.

His brand, which has brought him into the position of an entrepreneur in the fashion world, started from his friend who gave the suggestion to use acronym ?DAMN? which stands for Daniel Mananta. The catchy expression racked Daniel?s brain for another interesting phrase to accompany it. The spirit to promote Indonesia?s positive aspects, that is the concept that Daniel chose. Thus, the fashion brand ?DAMN! I Love Indonesia? was created.  

?I thought of a concept that combines the abundant Indonesia cultural values with the latest teenagers? pop culture. All in all, ?I Love Indonesia? aims for Indonesians to appreciate more of their own culture and for foreigners to love the richness of Indonesia cultures.?

According to Daniel, there are many elements that contribute to ?DAMN! I Love Indonesia? current fame. Among them are qualities, designs that mix Indonesia culture with the latest pop culture, history education behind every design, pricing strategy, store locations, and marketing strategy by cooperating with celebrities as well as seizing moments on special occasions, for instance, the August 17^th celebration.

Next, Daniel gave some of his tips to the audiences who have plans to start up their business. First, the owner must determine the purpose of their business. Is it for raking profits, making changes, delivering impacts, or just for following the trends? ?I do not merely sell clothes but also my pride, life style and love for Indonesia cultures,? he explained. The second advice is the business must have a unique selling point. To find out that point, owner can research the public?s response toward the business. Third is to grasp the challenges that the owner is going to face.

For Daniel, the definition of success is when one feel safe and happy from enjoying hobby that can give profit or something that is valuable. ?You can see that I am really enjoying the time when I work as an MC. But I do not stop there. When I explore further, there are many potential job opportunities like producer. There are many other potential opportunities that I can dive into so I feel that I have not yet reached a complete success,? he admitted.

Daniel is aware that one of the factors that deliver his business success is his popularity. ?But this does not mean that students cannot reach the same success. If you want to promote your business, you can try to affiliate the brand to your friends? popularity or make yourself become popular in social media. There are many methods that can boost your business,? said Daniel, advising the students who are going to start their businesses.

The audience of seminar.

Product collection of ‘DAMN I Love Indonesia’

At the end of his talk show, Daniel reminded that principally, in building a business, the owner must have partners that can cover
up for the weak parts. Then, unique selling is the determining factor to win the market. ?Luckily, my product is self-descriptive enough so there is no need for further explanation. But the challenge is when I have to sell it to the market so that it follows to my planned concepts. Because, the bottom line of ?DAMN! I Love Indonesia? is a movement, life style, attitude and something that is out of the box,? Daniel explained, ending the Q&A session. (rh)