Shall I say, Tiny Business?
In Bali, I see plenty of small and shall I say tiny businesses… The tiny ones are known as benkels for example. They are tiny motorcycle service places. They are as little as 2 meters by 2 meters at the side of the road and they take walk-in customers and some regulars. While they mostly tend to quick fixes and flat tires these guys also do service calls and battery replacements etc.
The other tiny businesses are the Grobaks. These are the portable food stalls that are pushed along the side of the road to a rented spot in someone’s parking lot. These little guys come out and set up shop in the early evening and stay open till midnight or so.
Hardworking people who will never ever grow their business past what it is at the moment. Their kids too may grow into the business as well. Thus that little food stall on wheels will or may be passed down from father to son.
Small shops.
The same sort of thing applies to many small shops in Indonesia. Some of these are set up at the front of properties and they are often the necessities one needs in a small community. Could be water, propane, shampoo, cigarettes, and basics such as sugar, milk and the like.
These little shops are run by family members.
For example, I went to get a new helmet and the whole family was there. In this case, it was mom and dad with two kids, of about 5-8, and a set of twins about 3 months old. The whole family was in the shop sitting on the floor and playing. This is not uncommon. So when I see things like this, of course, I will support them.
The tiny vs small business.
This is where I suppose I am treading at the moment. Some of these businesses have a past and have been around for a while. Many have been eradicated by the pandemic. Some are hanging on by a thread and even an extra sale a day can be seen as lifesaving or prolonging the legacy of that business.
This is where I try and help and give them as much knowledge as I can so they can survive. Mostly they are positive about the input and other times I can explain things but they simply do not see the benefit.
My guys at Sunrise trekking are one of these guys. Edhy tries to understand the idea of social media and has made a proper website as well. He works hard and is happy to get any extra business. Yet he needs to get an idea of the content and the difference between good content and bad content.
The content.
The downfall of all of this is that social media is work. Often it is hard work. It seems simple to make content and post it. Yet when you do it every day for 365 days a year, it is hard to come up with new things, and original engaging content.
I know this from my TikTok and years of creating content. However, there are positive outcomes. A restaurant that was able to survive. The rebranding of a real estate company and the growth in sales for a skincare company.
Zsolt Zsemba 