No beauty sleep for cigarette kiosk owner

No beauty sleep for cigarette kiosk owner

Text and photo by Arief Suditomo

JAKARTA (JP): Dedi Achmad runs his tiny kiosk selling cigarettes, cookies and candies with the simplest concept of management: Wake up early and stay awake as late as possible.

"The longer you stay awake the bigger your revenues are," he says.

Dedi, a 20 year-old from Kuningan, West Java, is a co-owner of the kiosk strategically located on the busy Jl. Bintaro Raya in South Jakarta. His shop is open for more than 20 hours a day.

"I don't have an exact schedule on when to open my stall or when I should close it. I just wake up as early as possible each morning and stay up as late as I can," he told The Jakarta Post.

Dedi came to the capital four years ago together Salim Wanta, his best friend from his small village. They each chipped in Rp 250,000 in capital to start their small business.

"I never dreamed of becoming a cigarette seller," he confided to The Post. "I guess it runs in the family because my father is also running the same business in Bekasi."

The business may not be lucrative but it is one that almost couldn't go wrong even at a time when the anti-smoking campaign increases in Indonesia.

As Dedi himself admits, everywhere in Jakarta one can find a cigarette kiosk within a walking distance, at almost at any hour at almost any time.

When he and Salim came to Jakarta, they surveyed various spots in the city before deciding on the location along Jl. Bintaro Raya, a busy area through which people of Bintaro Jaya have to pass to get to town.

They built their modest 1 X 1.5 meter kiosk and painted it blue and yellow.

They used their initial capital to stock up the kiosk with cigarettes, soap, instant noodles, soft drinks and candies which they buy in bulk from the market.

They learned the business by trial and error, and for sure there were some errors in the beginning.

They didn't realize for example that some goods carry expiration dates.

"Salim and I always laugh when we remember how silly we were, selling rotten cookies or bottled mineral waters which had passed their expiration date," Dedi recalls.

He said that when they settled in Bintaro, competition was light as there were hardly any cigarette kiosks along Bintaro Raya.

"But now you can find one within a minute's walk from another."

He said location is the most important aspect in this highly competitive business which chiefly depends on passing motorists who might want to buy cigarettes, sweets or cookies.

"A good location is one where there is a large enough space for at least one car to stop in front of your kiosk," he said.

Dedi said location is the most important determinant in the business. They can open as many kiosks as they like near his own but a strategic location determines the winner because a motorist is bound to pick one where he can easily stop.

"But there's also the factor of luck," he said as he pointed at the two kiosks to his left and right which are his competitors. "I believe every kiosk has its own good luck."

How about security, perhaps from harassment by local thugs or bullies, given that they stay open into the wee hours?

Dedi said he never had any problem in the four years he had run the business.

"There were two or three street kids who used to come for free cigarettes, but once we knew each other well, they became loyal friends," he said.

For the privilege of the location, Dedi pays Rp 15,000 a month to some officials in the Bintaro subdistrict office.

Dedi said he and Salim used to run the kiosk at the same time and split the income at the end of the month.

But last year they decided to each take a two month turn, so that the other could take a long break and go to their home village. The one who runs the kiosk keeps the entire two month's earnings.

Dedi said he was quite happy with the arrangement.

On a good month, the kiosk could make up to Rp 500,000. The monthly profit never falls below Rp 250,000.

"I'm expecting Salim to return before February to take my place. I've been here since December," he said.

What are the biggest occupational hazards in running the kiosk?

Loneliness and fatigue, Dedi said quickly, especially under the new arrangement in which each person manages the kiosk for up to 20 hours a day for 60 days by himself.

"The new arrangement allows me to earn more money but I have no social life at all since I have to stand by here 24 hours a day without somebody to replace me."

He said the absence of Salim has made his work that much harder.

He said it's a struggle for him every night to have to stay awake but the thought of losing income by falling asleep keeps him going for as long as he can.

"When I really can not stand it anymore, I turn off the petromaks (oil lamps), close the kiosk, and go to sleep there," he said as he ushered this reporter to see the small space behind the kiosk rack that he calls his bed and his home.

He laughed bitterly when this reporter asked how he could live in such a modest facility.

"I am not planning to live like this forever. Next year I will take a course to be a car repairman. Then I will work as a mechanic," he said.

What are his goals in life?

He said he never entertained the notion to become rich, but he wants to be successful and happy. He added that happiness is a state of mind and that he was now happy.

Why? Because he has saved Rp 2 million from his earnings in the four years since he started working in Jakarta.

"I haven't decided yet on how I'm going to spend the money," he said. "I have no girlfriend and my father is still paying the family bills," he said.

Dedi is the oldest of five children. He has two brothers and two sisters. "I barely see my siblings and my parents. It is my mother who I miss the most," he said.

Dedi will be happier next month when he goes home to see his mother, brothers and sisters.

Then, he can catch up on his sleep.