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o be successful in running a business, it takes more than just a desire to make money. A clear vision on how a person can benefit others from the business is another requirement to succeed, said Levita Supit, the owner of beauty center Syeba Aura Acupressure.

The decision to franchise her beauty center, came from her business philosophy that success should be shared with other people.

“I am committed to share my knowledge in running a successful business and I think that franchising is one of the best ways to manifest my idealism,” she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday in Jakarta.

Levita started the acupressure business in 2005. The first Syeba Aura Acupressure outlet was opened at Modernland in Tangerang, Banten. After struggling hard for five years, she currently owns three other Syeba outlets in Kemang, Grand Wijaya and Fatmawati in South Jakarta.

Having four outlets does not stop her from expanding her business further. Four Syeba outlets will soon be opened in Cibubur, West Java; Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta; Medan, North Sumatra; and Manado, North Sulawesi.

“All those new outlets will be managed by franchisees,” she said.

Levita said that the idea to open an aura acupressure center came from her hobby to have beauty treatments, including acupressure. She said that she felt the benefit of the treatment, but saw not too many acupressure centers were available around the city. And then, the inspiration to open her own acupressure center suddenly struck her.

She took the name of Syeba from the bible. Syeba was a name of a beautiful and wise queen who was loved by people who lived in her kingdom.

“During the age of kingdoms, aura acupressure was exclusively given to queens or princesses,” she said. “So, I thought why don’t I make it available for all?”

Acupressure treatments in her outlets are provided at very affordable prices, ranging from Rp 70,000 (US$7.7) to Rp 250,000.

She said that people, particularly women, enthusiastically responded to her business. “Many had asked to be franchisees years ago. But, I rejected them because I wanted to develop my business, introduce the brand, and gather customers’ trust first, before franchising Syeba.”

Now, five years after she first started the business, she is ready to franchise acupressure centers.

“We offer two investment packages: Rp 150 million and Rp 350 million. The investments cover the infrastructure procurement and workers and management trainings,” said the alumni of the law faculty of the Indonesian Christian University (UKI), Jakarta.

An outlet of Syeba Aura Acupressure could earn total revenue ranging from Rp 50 million to Rp 100 million a month depending on its size, she said. She added that the profit could reach over 50 percent of total earnings.

Levita was born in Medan in 1966. After graduating from UKI, she continued her master’s degree at Tarumanegara University, West Jakarta, taking international law as her major.

She said that her educational background helped her a lot in running her businesses. “I understand all the legal processes and other issues related to my businesses.”

Besides Syeba Aura Acupunture, Levita also manages another franchise brand, Teh Saring, a tea franchise brand owned by local tea producer PT Sari Wangi.

“We currently have 400 Teh Saring booths across the country,” she said. She added that to be Teh Saring franchisees, people just needed to invest Rp 6.5 million to get a booth and free products for two weeks.

“This franchise business is very suitable for new businessmen who have limited initial capital,” said Levita who is also the chairwoman of the Indonesia Franchising and Licensing Society (Wali).

A booth of Teh Saring can earn a total monthly revenue of Rp 15 million with a net profit of about 50 percent of the total revenue, she claimed. “You can return your initial capital in just one or two months.”

She said that the Teh Saring franchise was a manifestation of her idealism to help low and middle income people to have new businesses and lift their standard of living. “I dedicate this business as my contribution to this nation.” (rdf)