JP/Setiono Sugiharto

Many people are spurning corporate life and going it alone but to succeed as an entrepreneur, one needs more than a quixotic idea.

Slamet Rianto never had any formal education in entrepreneurship or any training in how to run a successful business. Nor did he ever dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur. Yet, with tenacity and hard work, he dared to venture into a small business as a street bakso (meatball) vendor and made it big.

With Rp 50 (now less than 1 US cent) in hand, he tried his luck selling bakso using a pushcart around Kota Bambu, Palmerah in West Jakarta back in 1970. A bowl of bakso was priced Rp 75 at that time.

Knowing that the prospects for his business were good, Slamet began to have a frenzied, zealous determination for the business and refused to give up.

Now, the owner of six branches of Bakso Titoti meatball restaurants in Greater Jakarta has a turnover of hundreds of millions a month, with profits of 30 percent. He also has 50 employees, all of whom are from his hometown of Wonogiri in Central Java, which is renowned for its bakso.

'€œWhen my father-in-law opened his first stall, he already had three children '€” Nuryanti, Suhartanto and Diana Susanti. He was so inspired by his three children that he decided to name his business after the last syllable of his children'€™s names,'€ said Irfan, Slamet'€™s son-in-law and manager of his restaurant in Ciledug, Tangerang in Banten.

Amid the tough competition in the traditional food business, Bakso Titoti remains one of the favorites among meatball lovers.

The restaurant has also survived the test of time. During the economic crisis in 1997, when businesses languished and people'€™s buying power was low, the meatball place remained busy.

'€œWe have hundreds of consumers here in Ciledug and can sell up to 600 bowls of meatballs a day,'€ Irfan said.

Indah, a regular customer, praised the restaurant'€™s original flavor.

'€œI'€™m a meatball lover and have eaten meatballs in many places, yet, they have a completely different taste from Bakso Titoti,'€ she said.

Another customer, Irma, was introduced to the restaurant by a friend who treated her for lunch.

'€œSince my friend introduced me to this place, I'€™ve become hooked on the taste and have even brought my family to dine here on the weekend.'€

Irfan said it takes 20 kilograms of fresh meat a day to make hundreds of bowls of meatballs. A bowl of meatballs is priced at Rp 15,000.

It'€™s hot: Customers have meatballs at the Bakso Titoti meatball restaurant branch in Ciledug, Tangerang Banten. JP/Setiono Sugiharto

The restaurant, he said, only sells freshly made meatballs. The unsold meatballs are never served to customers the next day.

'€œMaintaining the customers'€™ trust is the key factor that has helped our business survive until today,'€ Irfan said.

In the food business, he said, it required more than just patience and tenacity to survive competition.

'€œTenacity and patience are needed in business but that'€™s not enough. Quality control of the food must be the priority,'€ he explained, adding that hygiene and customer satisfaction were also keys to maintaining their trust and to bring in more customers.

He said the strict quality control was one of the reasons why the restaurant did not join the franchising trend. It does not want to take the risk of trusting their traditional products to others'€™ hands.

'€œYou can no longer strictly control the meatballs'€™ taste and the service when the franchise is given to other people. Once customers feel dissatisfied with the service and the taste, you cannot expect them to come again.'€