From Selling Cosmetics to Building a Chips Business

Mrs. Dita’s journey into selling gatot chips began unexpectedly. Although she had experience selling cosmetics door-to-door, she decided to try her hand at making snacks. To her surprise, her neighbors loved the chips and began placing orders. As the orders kept pouring in, Mrs. Dita felt a new sense of excitement. “I got hooked because there were so many orders. I really enjoy this chips business. Making chips is kind of addictive,” she shared with a smile. Encouraged by this response, she decided to take the production of gatot chips more seriously, even though it remained a home-based operation.

Initially, she left her phone number for customers who wanted to reorder, but often they misplaced it. “I’d give them my number, but they would forget it,” she recalled. At that time, there were no contact numbers on the packaging, and she had no social media presence; everything relied on word-of-mouth. Additionally, production was challenging during the rainy season since the chips couldn’t dry properly. Without a dryer, she had to sun-dry them over a pawon (traditional wood-fired stove). Despite these challenges, she persevered with the limited resources she had.

After attending several DIVA training sessions, everything became clearer for Mrs. Dita. She learned many new skills, including using WhatsApp Business, promoting her products on social media, designing marketing materials, and listing her business on Google Maps. She even started designing her promotional content using Canva and began actively promoting her products online. “Now it’s easier for people to order since there’s a number on the packaging. The product also looks more professional,” she explained.

One of the more amusing moments for Mrs. Dita occurred during a post-training test. “We’re just village folks, not tech-savvy, so during the post-test, friends jokingly shouted, ‘Come on, just do it, do it!’” For her, the training was about learning together rather than competing, which made the moment even more enjoyable. Despite the learning curves, the sessions were warm, supportive, and delightful.

This sense of community gave Mrs. Dita the confidence that living in a small village with its limitations doesn’t prevent her from creating something extraordinary. In fact, many genuine, honest, and hardworking businesses originate from villages.

To fellow small business owners, Mrs. Dita shared her heartfelt message: “Hopefully, we can continue to grow in the future. To the mentors and DIVA team, may you always stay healthy and maintain your spirit in guiding us. Don’t give up because, even from the village, we can build great businesses.”