In both work and personal life, everything requires a process. Nothing is instant. As long as we remain honest, stay grounded, and believe in the process, God willing, the future will be better.”

In any professional world, the ability to manage a company is never born from a single opportunity alone. Whether it is business instinct or human resource management capability, everything grows slowly through repetitive habits and field experience.

For Reza Istianto, the poultry world is nothing new. Since his junior high school days, he was already familiar with his family’s poultry shop, which sold feed, medicine, and Day-Old Chicks (DOC). That routine continued through high school, when he began helping deliver feed directly to farmers’ barns.

“While delivering feed, I met the farmers directly and was introduced to the conditions on the ground. I learned a lot from there—from observing the workflow in the pens to understanding how farmers run their businesses. I began to understand early maintenance management and grew increasingly interested in the livestock world,” he told Poultry Indonesia on Wednesday (Jan 28).

That experience became the gateway to his understanding of the livestock sector. Before building the layer (egg-laying) chicken houses currently managed by Karomah Farm, his family first ventured into broiler chicken farming under a partnership system, after years of focusing on the poultry shop.

Learning Directly from Experience

Because he was exposed to the livestock world from an early age, Reza’s parents eventually entrusted him with more responsibility in managing the business. After graduating from college, he was immediately put in charge of a broiler partnership unit in Balikpapan.

“Around 2011–2012, I was entrusted with managing the broiler partnership. At that time, I also acted as the unit head and marketing manager, while overseeing production. That’s where I learned how to negotiate prices with traders, handle farmers, and deal with various situations in the field,” he said.

There were times when Reza felt like giving up. However, his parents urged him to persevere and keep learning. Their message was that once he held a broader scope of responsibility in the future, all those processes would serve as his foundation. “And they were right. In 2015, I was brought to the headquarters in Samarinda to manage several partnership branches. I realized then that the experience I gained in Balikpapan was truly beneficial,” he added.

His parents’ upbringing left a strong mark, especially the message to always remember the kindness of others and never take what rightfully belongs to the farmers. This is the principle he holds most dear: that alongside consistency in business, honesty is equally vital.

“In both work and personal life, everything requires a process. Nothing is instant. As long as we remain honest, stay grounded, and believe in the process, God willing, the future will be better,” he explained.

He lives by this conviction with full awareness because it is directly linked to the trust of others. In a job that demands social interaction and cooperation with farmers, trust must be maintained.

“If we aren’t honest, how can farmers trust us? Being honest with a farmer means if that is their right, then that is what they get—don’t reduce it, and certainly don’t withhold it. My parents always told me: don’t let the farmer’s sweat dry before you have paid them,” he recalled.

Breaking into New Markets

After several years of managing partnerships, Reza began looking for room to innovate. He proposed to his parents that they try the layer chicken business. That idea was realized in 2018, marked by the construction of a house with a capacity of 15,000 birds.

Although there were already many layer farmers in Samarinda at the time, Reza didn’t just go with the flow. He chose to stand out, drawing inspiration from the legendary Indonesian entrepreneur, Bob Sadino.

This article is an excerpt from the Profile section of Poultry Indonesia Magazine, February 2026 edition. Read the full story in the February 2026 Edition of Poultry Indonesia Magazine. To subscribe or for more information, contact: https://wa.me/+6287780120754 or sirkulasipoultry@gmail.com.

Stay updated with more information regarding the Poultry Industry in Indonesia by joining our Satwa Media Group WhatsApp Channel.