He has become a success the hard way.

Po Liang Tanuwijaya has overcome difficult circumstances a number of times in his life to become a respected businessmen in Indonesia. Mr. Po Liang says there are three keys to success in business. They include:

---take advantage of opportunities, even if they require a career or business change.

---continue to learn from the business successes and mistakes that you and others make.

---when you are successful, focus on your main business by continuing to improve your product, service and environment.

Tan, as he is known to his Martin Door friends, is in a unique position to talk about success in business because his life has mirrored those principles.

The son of a Chinese citizen, Tan never had a chance to finish his formal education beyond 11 th grade, but he had a drive to succeed and a strong work ethic. He is currently the owner of 230 Dunkin Donut stores in Indonesia with over 2,000 employees and also the distributor for Martin Doors in that country. Tan started his business career by opening a motorcycle repair shop and then changed his path by becoming a broker for imported cycles.
		Po Liang Tanuwijaya poses in front of his home in Jakarata. He is Martin Door's distributor for Indonesia.

From motorcycles he evolved to broker automobiles. He then grew his business to the point that he was offered a sole distributorship for Suzuki motorcycles in Jakarta.

On one occasion in 1976, the country had a major riot and his showroom was broken into, a car destroyed and motorcycles were towed to the river. Rather than give up, he rebuilt the showroom and started over with the goal to have a thriving business, without borrowing money.

		One of his biggest business ventures started in 1984 when he opened the first Dunkin Donuts in Indonesia. Tan traveled to the U.S. to learn how to make the American donut and opened his first store in July of 1985. One month later all of his bakers went on strike and Tan was forced to fire all of them. Working 18 hours a day 7 days a week, with some assistance from a nephew, Corporate Dunkin Donuts representatives and others, he was able to keep the business open and viable until he trained new bakers.
Tan owns 230 Dunkin Donuts franchises in Indonesia. He is shown at one of his stores with Dr. Keith Martin of Martin Doors.

That store eventually led to another and another and another.

While he has known ups and downs in different business ventures, he has remained committed to his core principles of working hard, saving, and offering great service. He also places a high priority on family. He and his wife, Jap Siauw Chiang, are the parents of four children.

It was through his children that he became acquainted with Martin Door. When his oldest son Jeffry started university in California, Tan purchased a home for him and other family members who followed to live in. Tan selected a Martin Door for this home, after the Martin dealer in his city showed him why the Martin Door was the best buy.

“Because I liked the Martin Doors on my California home, I purchased the first Martin Doors in Indonesia for my Indonesian home,” Tan said. Like other things he liked, he saw opportunity with the U.S. door and manufacturer.

In 1994, Tan became a Martin Door distributor in Indonesia, just two years after he first became acquainted with the company. Since then his company has installed hundreds of Martin Doors on the most expensive homes in the country.