Saving 'detikcom' from the storm

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

This year's Idul Fitri holiday season gave workaholics, such as Budiono Darsono, a rare break.

Budiono deserved the extended rest from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10, as it was the first time he has taken a break since the birth of detikcom, the online media he co-founded in 1998 and which survived the worldwide dotcom business crash last year.

"We have been going through some tough times, so we really needed a little rest to spend time with the family," Budiono said.

detikcom's survival has been attributed largely to Budiono's prowess and hard work. It has not only survived, but also maintained its position as the country's leading online media.

"We were stuck in a corner during the difficult times, but we were well aware that we had to be innovative or we would die like the many other dotcoms," Budiono said, laughing, when asked about his survival tactics.

Budiono is inseparable from detikcom and the Internet. Although Budiono set up the online media with other journalists, he is certainly the driving force behind it.

But, Budiono, who always appears comfortable in a casual T- shirt, jeans and thongs, remains modest about the online media's achievements.

"What actually saved us was the fact that from the beginning, we have been doing business the traditional way. No pain no gain," he said.

Many dotcomers, Budiono said, had started their business with massive capital, and then ran without profits, hoping to reap the huge profits once they entered the stock market.

"That was not the case with us. We could see that every single rupiah counted and we never wished for an overnight fortune," he said.

The year 2001 spelled the end for Internet businesses in Indonesia and elsewhere in the world. The Internet business, which was still in its infancy, collapsed when the global Internet bubble burst following a sharp plunge in the technology- heavy Nasdaq in April 2000.

PT Agranet Multicitra Siberkom (PT Agrakom), an Internet start-up company whom Budiono set up with his friends in addition to also running detikcom, was not spared.

Budiono recalled that the company went bankrupt partly because its strategy was moving along the dotcom trends with the involvement of foreign investors, adding more content and employees.

"We developed a portal whereas in the beginning the company was designed as an online media," he explained.

The adverse effect immediately made an impact on the company's financial performance. At that time, Budiono said, Agrakom's, the owner of detikcom, total revenue from advertisement and web services averaged Rp 600 million per month, which was barely enough to finance the company's operations. Its staff had grown from 22 employees to more than 160.

In order to minimize losses, Budiono and other directors had to take efficiency measures, including laying off employees, reducing overhead costs and closing inefficient business units.

The top management even decided to cut the salaries of directors.

But the most difficult decision that Budiono had to make was laying off employees, mostly the noneditorial staff.

"It was horrible because I had to fire people who had been working with me since the business started. If I had a choice, I'd rather have not shown up at the office," Budiono remarked.

The real war for Budiono, however, was inside detikcom's newsroom. Amid the desperation, Budiono had to keep the business running as usual. It was important as the website was Agrakom's core business.

"All the lay-offs, efficiency measures and the situation in the industry had affected the working conditions at detikcom. I had to encourage my friends to keep going," Budiono said.

Every day, he shows up early and does not leave the office until late at night, or sometimes early in the morning. Often, he does the reporters' work: He calls up sources, conducts interviews and writes the news.

He often spends the night in the office with his reporters.

"I have to be in the office 24 hours a day if necessary. It is important that they can see me all the time," said Budiono, who addresses his employees as his "friends" and takes them out for dinner sometimes.

His labor of love bore fruit late last year when detikcom's number of hits rose from 1 million per month to an average of 1.7 million per month this year. Revenue has soared from Rp 700 million a month to a whopping Rp 1.1 billion at present, he said.

"Conditions are better now. But it was still not enough for us to invest in a new infrastructure or even give out bonuses. It was just enough to survive on," he said.

His success in leading detikcom was a result of his 20 years experience in the media, which had shaped his talent.

Budiono started his career as a reporter for the Surabaya Post daily newspaper in Bojonegoro, East Java, back in 1983. He joined Tempo news magazine a year later, and it was there that he learned how to run a business.

In 1990, he quit Tempo and set up his own newspaper Berita Buana, which was shortlived. Berita Buana was banned for its reporting of the deadly rally in Santa Cruz, Dili, East Timor in 1991, which the Soeharto government considered slanderous.

While he was looking for work, he welcomed well-known filmmaker Eros Djarot's idea to set up a political tabloid, Detik, which quickly became popular for its scathing criticism of the government.

As its managing editor and one of the company's directors, Budiono made Detik the largest, most respected tabloid in the country. Its circulation rose from 12,000 copies in the beginning to 530,000 copies when it was banned by the government on June 4, 1994, along with Tempo and Editor for being too critical of the government.

In 1995, his friends Abdul Rahman, Yayan Sofyan and Didi Nugrahadi asked him to join their Internet start-up business -- PT Agrakom, which then founded detikcom.

detikcom hopes to rake in more profits from its latest feature Detikplus, where netters can have access to all types of information from detikcom, from news to classic novels and comics.

Budiono said that Detikplus has 350 subscribers who pay an annual fee of Rp 50,000.

"Hopefully, we will be able to give a first-ever bonus next year," he said, laughing.