TIMES HONGKONG, MALANG – Ely Dwi Astutik, a 7th semester student at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), has proven that passion and creativity can be the key to success in running a business. This young entrepreneur manages a decoration business called Amertaa Decoration.

The business specializes in event decorations, especially weddings and proposals, which she offers at affordable prices. For proposal or engagement decorations, Ely starts from Rp600,000, while aisle decorations start from Rp2,000,000. 

Starting from her skills in creativity, Ely creates attractive and modern decoration concepts according to client requests. “Most clients want simple yet modern decorations,” says Ely.

With this approach, she managed to attract the attention of many customers around her hometown, Sumenep, despite running her business remotely due to her busy college schedule.

A Hobby

The beginning of Ely's decorating business is quite unique. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Indonesia, Ely, who was still in school at the time, had to take a long vacation.

During this period of inactivity, Ely decided to find something useful to do. With her mother's support, she began to learn decorating by herself, using her savings to buy decorating supplies.

Ely's first opportunity came when her brother got married. Ely was asked to handle the wedding decorations, and the results made her even more convinced to continue this hobby into a business. In 2021, Ely officially started Amertaa Decoration.

“Since I was a kid, I've been interested in the business world, but I didn't know what kind of business I would run. Incidentally, I also have skills in creativity,” Ely recalls.

The desire to run this business grew stronger when Ely realized that she had a special interest in decorating the events she attended. This became a big inspiration for Ely to explore the world of decoration more seriously.

Challenges and Future Plans

As a student who lives far from her hometown, Ely is faced with a big challenge in running this decoration business. Ely, who studies in Malang, has to manage her business remotely, while Amertaa Decoration operates in Sumenep, Madura. Ely is responsible for promotion and administration, while her team of four handles the field work.

“The biggest challenge is managing the business remotely, especially since I cannot fully focus on promotion due to my studies. Also, competition in the decoration business is getting tougher,” says Ely.

However, she remains optimistic in managing her business and always maintains regular communication with the team to ensure the quality of the decorations produced remains in line with the client's wishes.

In the future, Ely hopes to expand her decoration business after graduating from college. Not only that, she also plans to expand her business by adding other services such as Make-Up Artist (MUA) and Wedding Organizer (WO) services.

“After graduation, I want to make this business my main business, and God willing, I will expand it to other related sectors,” she added.

With high enthusiasm and dedication, this young entrepreneur proves that even though she is still a student, she is able to run a professional decoration business and has great potential to grow in the future. (*)