The story of Azka, an SMK graduate who is now successful in selling lemon juice with a turnover of IDR 100 million

TIME.CO, Only – Vocational education plays a role as one of the foundations in preparing young entrepreneurs to higher level. SMK Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Director Wardani Sugijanto mentioned the Merdeka Curriculum policy in SMK provide flexibility for schools to create development programs for Creative Projects and Entrepreneurship (PKK) subjects.

The PPK, Wardani said, is tailored to the characteristics of each school and the local potential of the area. This was raised in an event organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology titled “Good Practices in Vocational Education to Create Competitive Young Entrepreneurs” which was held on Saturday at Pamedan Pura Mangkunegaran Solo during the momentum of UMKM National Day 2023, August 12, 2023.

In SMK there are hours of creative and entrepreneurial projects which are not in the form of theoretical subjects, but of practical realization project-based learning according to their potential.

“Children carry out creative projects accompanied by teachers looking at regional potential or local wisdom, including supporting local MSMEs and making products that people are interested in through project-based learning. Then there is also didactic factory as an incubator for entrepreneurship for SMK students,” Wardani said.

Wardani explained that the government had issued the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) number 2 of 2022 related to the development of national entrepreneurship for the period 2021-2024. With this regulation in place, Wardani said VET institutions must seize the opportunities afforded by the DPR by promoting innovation from didactic factory.

The talk show was attended by the owner of One’D Lemon, Muhammad Azka Farhan who is an alumnus of SMKN 9 Bandung. Azka shared his story about starting a business from the beginning of manufacturing and marketing One’D Lemon. He admits that he has had several ups and downs in building his business so that he has managed to achieve success.

The inspiration for Azka’s business came during the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially, he was inspired to sell lemon juice due to his family’s habit of consuming lemon juice every day.

When she first started selling, Azka had problems with shipping. The lemon bottle swelled and broke.

“It failed because the product was often damaged on the street due to the liquid. Then I did some research. It turned out that the wrong lemons had been used. At that time I used imported California lemons which turned out to have a high of gas”. he said.

After asking farmers and researching, he finally found the right local lemons, namely premium Palembang lemons. “When it was tried, the results were good and it could be sent all over Indonesia,” Azka said.

To support her product marketing, Azka has also studied digital marketing through social media to increase her sales. “Everything is done by ourselves, starting from content creation, live streaming, everything is implemented,” she said.

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Currently, Azka already has eight employees with a turnover of Rp. 100 million a month. Azka also did not stop studying and continued her education at Bina Nusantara University (Binus) majoring in Creativepreneurship who studied business management.

To be able to develop in the business world, Azka said an entrepreneur must have a good mindset, not be afraid to try, and must be able to learn from mistakes and conduct research. “Don’t try to give up and stop trying. You have to be consistent and focused and professional,” he told her.

The ups and downs of developing a business are also experienced by Saniyah, an entrepreneur in the fashion industry. This SMKN 4 Solo graduate is an alumnus of Ismia Karanganyar Course and Training Institute (LKP), Central Java.

After graduating from vocational high school, Saniyah ran a small business making tote bags with her friends. So, her friend decided to go to college, so Saniyah stopped working herself and stopped running the business. He then worked in a garment but was forced to be laid off during the pandemic so as to remain unemployed.

Saniyah then decided to enhance his knowledge and skills in vocational education by attending courses and training at LKP Ismia Karanganyar. You even signed up for the Entrepreneurial Skills Education (PKW) program and successfully passed the selection.

The PKW program is one of the flagship programs of the General Directorate of Vocational Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture through the Directorate of Courses and Training which aims to introduce new entrepreneurs through startups and have an impact on reducing the rate of unemployment.

Saniyah now has 25 employees with revenues in the tens of millions per month. According to him, vocational education not only prepares them to become skilled workers but also prepares them to become entrepreneurs.

He also advised prospective young entrepreneurs not to give up trying and not to give up quickly. “For those still starting a business, never stop trying. If you fail, keep trying until you succeed, you have to learn from failure,” she said.

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