Bob Sadino, a famous business figure from Indonesia, is a man who inspires many people through his life journey and success stories. In this article, we will dig deeper into Bob Sadino’s biography and profile, from his birth to his work in various businesses.
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Bob Sadino’s Biodata and Profile
His full name is Bob Sadino. Born in Lampung, March 9, 1933, died on January 19, 2015. He is familiarly called ‘om Bob’. He is an Indonesian entrepreneur who does business in the food and livestock sector. He is the owner of the Kemfood and Kemchick business networks. On many occasions, he is often seen wearing the short-sleeved shirt and shorts that characterize him.
Bob Sadino was born into a family that lived well. He is the youngest of five children. When his parents died, Bob, who was 19 years old at the time, inherited all of his family’s wealth because his other siblings were considered to be living well.
Bob then spent part of his fortune traveling the world. On his journey, he stopped in the Netherlands and stayed for about 9 years. There, he worked at Djakarta Lylod in the city of Amsterdam and also in Hamburg, Germany. While living in the Netherlands, Bob met his life partner, Soelami Soejoed.
In 1967, Bob and his family returned to Indonesia. He brought with him 2 of his Mercedes, made in the 1960s. One of them he sold to buy a plot of land in Kemang, South Jakarta while the other he kept. After living in Indonesia for some time, Bob decided to quit his job because he was determined to work independently.
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Bob Sadino’s Business Short Story
The first job he did after leaving the company was to rent out the Mercedes car he owned, he himself being the driver. But unfortunately, one day he got an accident that resulted in his car being badly damaged.
Because he had no money to repair it, Bob switched jobs to become a bricklayer. His salary at that time was only Rp.100. He also experienced depression due to the pressure of life he experienced.
One day, his friend suggested Bob raise chickens to fight his depression. Bob was interested. It was while raising chickens that the inspiration for entrepreneurship emerged. Bob paid attention to the lives of his chickens. He got an inspiration, chickens alone can fight for life, of course humans can too.
As chicken farmers, Bob and his wife sell several kilograms of eggs every day. Within a year and a half, he and his wife had many customers, especially foreigners, because they were fluent in English. Bob and his wife live in the Kemang area of Jakarta, where many foreigners live.
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It is not uncommon for the couple to be cursed at by customers, even foreign babu. But they reflect on themselves, improve services. Drastic changes occurred in Bob, from a feudal person to a servant. After that, over time Bob, who has silver hair, became the sole owner of the Kem Chicks super market (supermarket). He always looks simple with a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
Bob’s supermarket business is growing rapidly, expanding into agribusiness, especially holtikutura, managing vegetable gardens for foreign consumption in Indonesia. Therefore, he also cooperates with farmers in several regions.
Bob believes that every successful step is always preceded by failure after failure. The entrepreneurial journey is not as smooth as one might think. He and his wife are often upside down. For him, money is not number one. The important thing is willingness, commitment, dare to look for and seize opportunities.
When doing something one’s mind develops, plans do not always have to be standardized and rigid, what is in a person is the development of what he has done. The weakness of many people is that they think too much about making plans so they don’t take action. “The most important thing is action,” said Bob.
Bob’s success is inseparable from his ignorance so he jumped straight into the field. After ups and downs, Bob is skilled and masters his field. Bob’s success process is different from the norm, it should start from knowledge, then practice, then become skilled and professional. According to Bob, many people who start from knowledge, think and act sophisticated, arrogant, because they feel they have more knowledge than others.
Meanwhile, Bob is always flexible towards customers, willing to listen to customer suggestions and complaints. With such an attitude Bob won customer sympathy and was able to create a market. According to Bob, customer satisfaction will create self-satisfaction. Therefore, he always tries to serve customers as well as possible.
Bob places his company like a family. All members of the Kem Chicks family must respect each other, no one is the main one, all have functions and strengths.
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A Teacher’s Child
Returning to his homeland in 1967, after years in Europe with his last job as an employee of Djakarta Lloyd in Amsterdam and Hamburg, Bob, the youngest of five children, had only one determination, to work independently. His father, Sadino, a Solo man who was head teacher at Tanjungkarang Junior and Senior High School, died when Bob was 19.
The capital he brought from Europe, two Mercedes sedans made in the 1960s. He sold one to buy a plot of land in Kemang, South Jakarta. At that time, the Kemang area was quiet, there were still rice fields and gardens. Meanwhile, the other car was watched, Bob himself was the driver.
Once, the car was rented out. As it turned out, it was not the money that came back, but the news of the accident that destroyed his car. “My heart was broken,” said Bob. Losing a source of income, Bob then worked as a construction worker.
In fact, if he wanted, his wife, Soelami Soejoed, who had experience as a secretary abroad, could save the situation. However, Bob insisted, “I am the head of the family. I have to make a living.”
To ease his mind, Bob received a gift of 50 purebred chickens from his acquaintance, Sri Mulyono Herlambang. From here Bob went uphill: He managed to become the sole owner of Kem Chicks and a vegetable farming entrepreneur with a hydroponic system.
Then there is Kem Food, a meat processing plant in Pulogadung, and a shaslik “shop” in Blok M, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta. Early 1985 records show that Bob’s company sold an average of 40 to 50 tons of fresh meat, 60 to 70 tons of processed meat, and 100 tons of fresh vegetables per month.
“I live from fantasy,” Bob said, describing the success of his business. The father of two then gave an example of one of the results of his fantasy, being able to sell kale for Rp 1,000 per kilogram. “No one anywhere sells kale at that price,” said Bob.
Om Bob, the nickname for his men, does not want to move outside the food business. For him, the field he is now engaged in is endless. That’s why he doesn’t want to fantasize about anything. The eccentric-looking Haji is a big fan of classical music and jazz. The most beautiful moments for him, when praying with his wife and two children.
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Passed Away
After being treated for two months, eccentric entrepreneur Bob Sadino finally breathed his last at Pondok Indah Hospital Jakarta on Monday, January 19, 2015 after struggling with his illness, a chronic respiratory infection.
Bob Sadino is said to have been unconscious for 2-3 weeks. His illness was related to his advanced age and his declining condition after his wife passed away in July 2014.
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