The story of the Merintis Usaha from Zero Expedition Agent: Studying While Working is Not Easy

Illustration of the expedition service while delivering a package / Photo: AI

JAKARTA - In the midst of the demographic bonus momentum, more and more young generations are starting to see entrepreneurship as one of the options for building careers and income sources. The logistics industry is also one of the sectors that offer these opportunities as the need for delivery services increases in the era of digital commerce.

This is the opportunity that Yoel Abraham (23), a partner of the Lion Parcel agency in Pontianak, sees. Armed with the desire to build a business since he was still in college and the logistics industry which was seen as promising, Yoel started the Lion Parcel agency business three years ago. Now, his business continues to grow as the needs of the Pontianak community for fast and reliable delivery services increase.

"When I was still in college, I was looking for business opportunities that didn't have too much capital, and Lion Parcel was the choice because the cost of registering an agent was affordable. I also saw Lion Parcel's advantages in terms of its extensive delivery network and supported by Lion Group flights, so the delivery was fast. This is very relevant to the needs in Pontianak, which sends a lot of typical foods such as layered cakes, bingke cakes, durian lempok, and hekeng that require fast delivery services so that the product arrives safely," said Yoel.

Running a business in the midst of college life is certainly not without challenges. At the beginning of his business venture, Yoel had to be good at dividing his time between lectures and managing the agency's operations.

Not only that, as a student with an English education background, he also had to learn the ins and outs of the logistics industry from scratch.

"I really learned logistics from scratch. Fortunately, the Lion Parcel team was very helpful and guided me from the beginning. Even now, if there are obstacles, they are always helped until they are completed," explained Yoel.

Thanks to his perseverance in building a business, the Lion Parcel agent business run by Yoel continues to grow to date, earning a turnover of tens of millions per month. After graduating from college, he also became more focused on developing his business by actively using social media to reach more customers.

These efforts have borne fruit, marked by an increase in customers and many positive testimonials about Lion Parcel services, especially because the delivery is considered fast, even often arriving earlier than estimated.

"I am grateful for deciding to start this business while still in college. In addition to being able to earn an income, I also gained a lot of valuable experience in running a business and facing various challenges. Hopefully in the future this business can continue to grow and become a motivation for other young people not to hesitate to start a business," concluded Yoel.

Yoel's story shows how young people can take advantage of opportunities in the logistics industry, but the opportunity to build a business with Lion Parcel is also open to people from various backgrounds. This is reflected in the journey of Suwandy (47), a partner of the Lion Parcel agent in Pontianak.

Starting from the COVID-19 pandemic which had an impact on the previous business revenue decline, Suwandy began to look for business alternatives that had promising prospects until finally choosing to become a Lion Parcel agent.

"I was interested in becoming a Lion Parcel agent because the list was easy and the cost was affordable. In addition, my consideration is because the delivery range is wide, you can send from Pontianak to all regions of Indonesia. Customers also give a lot of positive responses so that many repeat orders and become regular customers. Currently, my agents can process hundreds of packages per day," said Suwandy.

Now, Suwandy serves many corporate customers, supported by his agent's location in the shopping area in Pontianak. According to him, customer trust is built through responsive and wholehearted service. Thanks to this commitment, the Lion Parcel agent business he runs continues to grow and become a stable source of income.

The success of these agent partners reflects Lion Parcel's commitment to providing business opportunities that are easily accessible to the public.

Lion Parcel's Chief Retail Officer, Febri Andika, said that Lion Parcel sees more and more people, especially the younger generation, who not only want to find jobs, but also build their own businesses.

According to him, the logistics industry is one of the sectors that offers such opportunities as the growth in delivery needs continues to increase.

"We believe that the opportunity to build a business should be accessible to anyone. Therefore, the Lion Parcel agent partnership is designed to be easily accessible to people from various backgrounds, with investments starting at IDR 10 million and supported by an easy registration process.

"Moreover, we are committed to supporting each partner from the beginning through training and various sustainable development programs so that they not only start a business, but also have the opportunity to continue to grow with Lion Parcel," said Febri.

The story of Yoel and Suwandy shows that the opportunity to build a business can be present for anyone, from young people who want to start a business early on to business actors who want to develop new sources of income. Through the agency partnership, Lion Parcel will continue to support the birth of more new entrepreneurs while providing logistics services that are closer to the community.