TIMES HONGKONG, JAKARTA – A young man named Muhammad Alfa Priandito from Banaran, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta has proven that with enthusiasm and perseverance, business opportunities always exist. Tough it has to be through vegetables like luffa.

At the age of 17, Alfa, a Software Engineering Vocational School student, has succeeded in building a successful vegetable sales business, starting from his concern for his father who was a vegetable seller.

The pandemic has caused many vegetable sellers to experience difficulties, including Alfa's father. Witnessing these conditions, Alfa took the initiative to look for vegetable suppliers from local farmers.

He spilled his story from the beginning of his business up unrill now through Pecah Telur, a YouTube channel which discuss about this kind of thing.

The Beginning of His Journey

"Seeing my father having difficulty finding suppliers, I felt compelled to help," he said. He began collaborating with farmers and selling their crops to his father. 

Over time, Alfa's business grew rapidly. He started selling various types of vegetables, and more and more people asked his contacts to place orders.

"Many people asked to contact me, so I just delivered orders, no need to bother selling them," he said proudly. With initial capital of 6 million rupiah, Alfa is able to turn over the capital many times over, with a monthly turnover that can reach 150 million rupiah in a month.

The vegetables that are most in demand are luffa and oyster mushrooms, which are even sent outside the Gunungkidul area. Now, the farmers he previously looked for already know him, so he no longer has difficulty finding suppliers. 

The Obstacles

However, Alfa's journey was not always smooth. He faced various challenges, especially bad weather and erratic temperatures, which caused crop yields to decline.

"At one time it was so quiet that it only had a turnover of 60 million per month," he said. Even so, Alfa remains optimistic and continues to adapt to the existing situation.

Currently, Alfa's latest project is to send no less than 10 to 30 tons of luffa per month. Apart from selling, he also lends capital to farmers to grow vegetables and provides input on which vegetables to plant. "I want to help small farmers so they can progress further," he said.

The More the Merrier

In carrying out this business, Alfa is not alone. He is assisted by a colleague and his parents in managing his finances. When sales were increasing, Alfa did not hesitate to invite friends or neighbors to help him.

"Instead of just being stay still at home, playing games, it's better to help out, you can get pocket money," he said enthusiastically.

Alfa's achievements also deserve a thumbs up. He received an award as a young entrepreneur in the Yogyakarta provincial level, Momenku Siap Berkemas Batch 2, 2023. "Business opportunities are always there, it just depends on whether we want to run them or not," he stressed.

Having His Parents' Supports

Alfa's positive mindset mostly comes from his parents. He always live by his father words, aas his father once said "Lower your pride, spend your shame when you are young, so you won't be ashamed when you are old." With passion and perseverance, Alfa has shown many people that success is not just about age, but also about the willingness to learn and try.

"In my opinion, the definition of success is not how we work for people, but how we make people work for us." With all his achievements and efforts in his luffa business, Muhammad Alfa Priandito is an inspiration for other young generations not to be afraid of entrepreneurship and pursuing their dreams even in difficult conditions. (*)