Name : Faiq Ubaidillah

Class : IMaBs A

NIM : 20200410112

BIOGRAPHY OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS

(Dahlan Iskan and Shichiro Honda)
 CHAPTER 1

PRELIMINARY

Background
Entrepreneurship in general is a process of doing something new or creative and different
(innovative) that is useful and provides added value.
According to DRS. Joko Untoro entrepreneurship is a courage to make efforts to meet the needs
of life carried out by someone, on the basis of ability by utilizing all the potential they have to
produce something useful for themselves and others.
Entrepreneurship is very synonymous with entrepreneurs, most entrepreneurs start their business
from zero to reach the point of glory or success. This also happens in Indonesia and also in the
international community. Successful entrepreneur figures in Indonesia are such as Dahlan Iskan,
and in the international world such as Soichiro Honda who came from Japan.
Dahlan Iskan is a boy who was born from a poor family, even at the time of his elementary
education he did not have shoes, and only had one set of clothes. This did not discourage Dahlan,
he remained strong and tried to rise until he finally became a successful businessman who started
by working in the field of journalism.
Likewise Soichiro Honda, as the founder of a well-known motor vehicle company he had a
difficult career. As a child, Honda had an interest in machines, but he was not very good at the
education that was taught at school, which caused Soichiro Honda to drop out of school and
prefer to work. Since then the career of Soichiro Honda began, but to achieve his success he had
to go through various failures and bankruptcies, but he still rose and innovated until he was
successful today.
 Formulation of the problem
From the brief background above then raises several important questions, namely:
1. What is the biography of Dahlan Iskan and Soichiro Honda as successful
entrepreneurs?
2. How is the character's way of life to achieve success?
  Destination
In writing the paper "Biography of Successful Entrepreneurs" has a purpose contained therein.
Among others :
1. Informing the general public, especially youth, to find out how an entrepreneur achieves
his success.
2. Making the reader able to observe and take positive things from the journey of a
successful entrepreneur figure in reaching his success.
3. Directing readers to be enthusiastic in wrestling in the field of entrepreneurship or
entrepreneurship.

 Benefits
As for the writing of the paper "Biography of a Successful Entrepreneur" it has the benefits
contained, including:
1. Inspire readers with the journey of a successful entrepreneur in achieving his success.
2. Cultivate the attitude of readers who love the field of entrepreneurship and are motivated to
do so.
 CHAPTER 2

DISCUSSION

National Success Entrepreneur Biography (Dahlan Iskan)

Dahlan Iskan was born in Magetan, East Java, to be precise in the village of Kebun Dalam
Tegalarum, Bando District, Magetan, East Java in 1951. Dahlan Iskan never knew the exact date
and month he was born, until now the date he used as a birthdate was his essay alone. He used 17
August 1951 as his birthday because it was the exact day of Indonesia's independence so it was
easy to remember. In addition, maybe he also wanted to be encouraged by that date like the spirit
of the fighters of the year 45.
Dahlan Iskan's childhood
Dahlan Iskan is the son of the couple Mohammad Iskan and Lisnah. Dahlan is the third of four
children. His first brother was named Khosyatun, his second brother was named Sofwati while
his youngest brother was named Zainuddin.
In the economic field, Dahlan Iskan's parents were not rich, they could even be said to be very
poor. Dahlan and his brothers used to live in simplicity. Life has forged little Dahlan into a tough
person. Often he and his brother feel pain in the stomach because they are holding back hunger,
he wraps a sarong around his stomach. For Dahlan's family, poverty does not mean having to beg
for mercy, but rather has to be faced with work and effort. Dahlan's father once said "Poverty
that is lived properly will mature the soul". That is the principle of the Dahlan family.
When he was a child, Dahlan Iskan only had one shirt, namely a shirt and pants and a sarong.
The sarong is a versatile dress for Dahlan, when he worships he uses a sarong, when his clothes
and pants are washed, he uses a sarong until his clothes are dry, when he sleeps at night he uses a
sarong for blankets When he was at school he had no shoes. At that time the distance between
his home and school was tens of kilometers, so he and his brother walked it on foot, feeling
blisters on the soles of their feet because they were not wearing shoes. So he had a big desire
(according to him at the time) which was to have a bicycle and shoes (you can read this story in
the book “Dahlan's Shoes”).
Little Dahlan's mischief
After school, Dahlan does not necessarily play. He has to work to help his parents, such as
cutting grass, being a coolie in the sugar cane plantation, herding goats and others. But this does
not necessarily make little Dahlan lose his joy. He was still a cheerful and occasionally naughty
little boy.
One day, because he really wanted to have shoes, Dahlan opened his father's closet to find out if
his father had some money there. He also got a red mark on his report card. When he has
managed to have shoes, he still 'needs to go' to school and he 'carries' his shoes to keep them
durable and not damaged.
Another story of little Dahlan's mischief is that when he came home from school, he and his
younger brother, Zainuddin, worked herding goats. After school, we used to herd sheep on the
edge of the village river,” said Zainuddin. While herding sheep, he and his friends played
puppets from cassava branches. "Because of the fun, don't know it turns out the sheep have
passed and returned to the cage at home." They were both very scared if their father scolded
them, but they were finally relieved because the number of sheep that had returned was complete
with 30 heads.
Dahlan Iskan's Education
Dahlan Iskan started attending a madrasa which is also called a people's school (now called an
elementary school). After graduating, he continued to a junior high school, then to an aliyah
school at the high school level.
After graduating from high school, Dahlan Iskan continued his studies at the law faculty of IAIN
Sunan Ampel and at the University of 17 August. During college he preferred to participate in
student activities such as Indonesian Islamic Students and writing student magazines and student
newspapers rather than attending lectures. Because of his preoccupation, he did not continue his
studies.
Dahlan Iskan's Career
Dahlan's career began with moving to Samarinda, East Kalimantan, where he stayed at his eldest
brother's house, and became a reporter for a local newspaper. Starting from there, many of
Dahlan's writings were interested in him.
In 1976, Dahlan returned to Surabaya and worked as a journalist for Tempo magazine. At that
time there was a historic disaster, namely the sinking of the Tampomas ship. Dahlan wrote about
the disaster with all his heart and put it in the Tempo News Headline. Unexpectedly the results
were extraordinary, from the response of many readers who liked Dahlan's style of writing. This
is why the Tempo leadership appointed Dahlan as head of the Tempo East Java bureau.
Although he has worked and written for Tempo, Dahlan secretly also writes for other
newspapers such as the Surabaya Post and weekly newspapers such as Ekonomi Indonesia as an
additional source of income. The Tempo leadership recognized this and rebuked Dahlan.
Dahlan Iskan and Jawa Pos
Jawa Pos was founded by The Chung Shen on July 1, 1949 under the name Java Post. At that
time The Chung Shen was just an employee of the advertising department of a cinema in
Surabaya. Because every day he had to place an advertisement for cinema in the newspaper, he
soon became interested in creating his own newspaper. After the success of his Jawa Pos, The
Chung Shen also founded a newspaper in Mandarin and Dutch. The Chung Shen's business in
the newspaper sector is not always smooth. In the late 1970s, Jawa Pos's turnover experienced a
sharp decline. In 1982, the circulation was only 6,800 copies.
His other newspapers had already retired. When he was 80 years old, The Chung Shen finally
decided to sell Jawa Pos. He felt he could no longer manage his company, while his three
children preferred to live in London, England.
At that time, news came that Jawa Pos was bought by the President Director of PT Grafiti Pers,
Tempo Publisher, Eric Samola. Seeing his decent achievements and Dahlan's desire to do more,
in 1982 he was promoted to the leader of the Jawa Pos newspaper.
Initially, the Jawa Pos newspaper was called Java Post, then it was changed to Java Post and then
changed again to Jawa Pos. Initially the Surabaya mass media was controlled by the Surabaya
Post and Kompas. When Dahlan Iskan was appointed chairman of Jawa Pos, Jawa Pos almost
went bankrupt because it was unable to compete. Turnover alone is only 6,800 copies. But
Dahlan did not give up, he looked for a way to save Jawa Pos.
At that time the culture of reading newspapers was in the afternoon. Seeing this, Dahlan's
brilliant idea emerged. He decided that Jawa Pos would be published and distributed in the
morning. This idea was rolled out by Dahlan so that Jawa Pos seemed to be able to provide news
faster than other newspapers.
However, not all of his staff agreed with Dahlan's proposal because it was against the people's
habit of reading newspapers. The afternoon is a relaxing time, people come home from work
while relaxing by reading the newspaper. While in the morning, many people are pressed for
time to work. Where could there be time to read the newspaper. What will happen if Jawa Pos
does not sell well if it is published in the morning. That's the argument of his staff who do not
agree with Dahlan's proposal.
But Dahlan did not give up, this is precisely the opportunity Jawa Pos. When other newspapers
have not been published, Jawa Pos precedes them to be published and distributed. So that it will
form an opinion that Jawa Pos is faster to cover news and find out news faster than other
newspapers. The problem of the habit of reading the newspaper in the afternoon can slowly be
changed in the morning. Of course, people will be happier if they know what is happening in
society sooner than the last to know.

Finally, Jawa Pos was published in the morning, at first the people were surprised that there was
a newspaper that was published in the morning. But patiently Dahlan and his team educate the
public to read the newspaper in the morning. Dahlan formed an opinion that the sooner you
know up-to-date news, the smarter and cooler you are. For this matter, Dahlan Iskan even went
directly into marketing the Jawa Pos newspaper.
Slowly, Jawa Pos accustoms people to reading the newspaper in the morning. Publishing
newspapers in the morning, Jawa Pos has almost no competition because other newspapers are
still published in the afternoon. Finally, within a period of five years, namely 1982-1987, Jawa
Pos was published with a circulation of 126,000 copies. Jawa Pos's turnover rose 20 times from
the first year, 1982. Jawa Pos's turnover reached 10.6 billion. From a newspaper that almost went
out of business, Dahlan Iskan turned Jawa Pos into a spectacular newspaper and Jawa Pos under
Dahlan's leadership succeeded in changing people's habits from reading newspapers in the
afternoon to morning. Seeing the success of Jawa Pos, another newspaper that was originally
published in the afternoon also rose in the morning for fear of losing the market.
In 1993 when he was 42 years old, Dahlan resigned as editor-in-chief and general manager of
Jawa Pos because he wanted to give younger people the opportunity to work.
Dahlan Iskan finally focused on developing the Jawa Pos media network, which initially only
published newspapers, Jawa Pos later also made magazines and other regional newspapers. This
network is known as the Jawa Pos News Network (JPNN). JPNN is the largest media network in
Indonesia today, leading 190 newspapers, tabloids and magazines and owning 40 printing houses
spread throughout Indonesia.
In 1997 Dahlan Iskan built a famous skyscraper in Surabaya with the name Graha Pena. This
building is the center of JPNN's activities. Apart from Surabaya, Dahlan Iskan also built a similar
building in Jakarta considering that Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and to further strengthen
the existence of JPNN in the country.
Dahlan also looked at electronic media by establishing local TV stations in Surabaya, namely
JTV and SBO, Batam, namely Batam TV, in Pekanbaru, namely Riau TV, FMTV in Makassar,
PTV in Palembang, and Parahyangan TV in Bandung and in other cities which reached 34
television stations. local.
“Don't put all your eggs in the same basket”, goes the business saying. Dahlan Iskan also
believed the saying. He diversified his business into real estate and hotel businesses.
In addition, Dahlan Iskan also owns companies related to electricity, namely the director of a
private power plant PT Cahaya Fajar Kaltim in East Kalimantan and PT Prima Electric Power in
Surabaya. This is one of the reasons why Dahlan was appointed as the President Director of
PLN.
Fangbian Iskan Corporindo (FIC)
In early 2009, Dahlan Iskan also put his 'investment egg' in the communications industry. He
built the Sea Cable Communication Connection (SKKL) which will connect Surabaya -
Indonesia and Hong Kong with an optical fiber length of 4,300 kilometers. This project is under
the auspices of Fangbian Iskan Corporindo (FIC) with Dahlan Iskan as Commissioner.

Dahlan Becomes Director of PLN

Dahlan Iskan's success in developing the Jawa Pos Group is well known everywhere. Every time
the print and electronic media cover the success of this media magnate from East Java, even
President SBY knows the brilliance of Dahlan Iskan in leading JPNN. At that time in Jakarta, the
lights went out in season. Many people complain that their electronic equipment is damaged
because of this byar-pet. Fahmi Mochtar, who was the CEO of PLN at that time, received a lot of
criticism. Finally, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a decision to appoint Dahlan
Iskan as PLN's Managing Director replacing Fahmi Mochtar.
Many parties do not agree and doubt it. Even those who were against it sneered by saying “How
is it possible that Dahlan Iskan, who only graduated from high school and did not graduate from
college, could lead PLN. Don't equate PLN with Jawa Pos." In response to this, Dahlan Iskan
casually replied, "PLN is a gathering place for great people, high school graduates with the
greatest major, Physics, the department that is considered the smartest. Then, he entered the ITB
faculty of electrical engineering, which is also the greatest. After graduating from ITB, he was
selected to enter PLN by great seniors. Without a doubt, PLN is a collection of the greatest and
smartest people in this country.” “Yes. What is needed now is a stupid human like me.”
Dahlan's first day working at PLN, he immediately made a breakthrough, including:
1. Free byar-pet in Indonesia within six months
2. Movement a day a million connections
3. Revocation of capping, namely the industrial electricity tariff limit, so that it is more
equitable and can foster the investment climate in Indonesia.
In addition to the above programs, Dahlan Iskan also built a large number of projects for PLN
such as building PLTS on 100 islands in 2011. In the year before Dahlan's leadership, PLN only
managed to build PLTS on 5 islands in Eastern Indonesia, namely Banda Island, Bunaken
Manado, Derawan, East Kalimantan. , Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, and Citrawangan.
The unique facts of Dahlan Iskan when he became the CEO or CEO of PLN are as follows:
1. Every 17th of every month, which is usually filled with ceremonies, is replaced with
discussions between employees and superiors.
2. Dahlan Iskan also made the "CEO Note" often also called the CEO Note Dahlan Iskan,
which is a note that can bridge superiors and subordinates. Note CEO Dahlan Iskan
always ends with motivational words to be more advanced and successful.
3. Dahlan Iskan prefers to drive his own private car rather than using an official car.
4. Dahlan Iskan does not take his salary as CEO of PLN and does not occupy the official
residence.
Sure enough, under the leadership of Dahlan Iskan who is full of vision and has a high work
ethic, PLN has made a lot of progress. Like no more byar-pet and more professional service.
Dahlan Iskan served as President Director of PLN for only two years because on October 19,
2011, President SBY appointed Dahlan Iskan as Minister of State-Owned Enterprises replacing
Mustafa Abubakar who was sick.

In fact, it was very difficult for Dahlan to leave PLN, because many of his programs have not
been completed and the vision he has built to reform PLN has not materialized, considering his
term of office is still 2 years old. But what he said, it turns out that his ability to lead is
considered higher than just leading PLN.
Dahlan Becomes Minister of SOEs
When he was appointed as Minister of SOEs, there was one question addressed to Dahlan, more
or less the question was "BUMN is an institution that is often an easy target for corruption, what
do you think?" Responding to such questions, Dahlan smiled as he answered “According to my
observations, in this institution there are 10% honest people and 10% dishonest people. While
the 80% is in the middle, depending on who leads. If those who lead include honest people, then
the 80% who have followed the honest ones so that the honest ones become 90%. On the other
hand, if the leader is dishonest, 80% will also join the dishonest so that the dishonest becomes
90%. So back to the leader again.” Wow excellent. Very smart answer.
Since becoming the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Dahlan Iskan has made several
movements. One of them is to clean SOEs from corruption. The initial step is to provide specific
criteria in appointing CEOs in state-owned companies. One of the criteria is to have high
integrity. Another requirement is to have enthusiasm to move forward.
Dahlan did not mention being smart as a condition because everyone is definitely smart. But
there is also enthusiasm and integrity, he is like a wild horse," said Dahlan.