The life of Wahju Hanafi reads like a captivating rags-to-riches story.

Coming from a family that was not well off, there was a time when Wahju had to borrow SGD$500 every month from his father's business friend just to stay in school to complete his education in Singapore. In 1978, he was offered a job in Papua New Guinea by his girlfriend's brother. Having just enough and being only 18, he didn't have much to consider before deciding to grab the opportunity.

That was the beginning of a phenomenal journey. Today, Wahju runs his own chain of twelve Super Value Stores (SVS) in Papua New Guinea. SVS is the main wholesaler for major labels such as Puma, all Indofood products (Indomilk, Indomie, Bimoli cooking oil), and all toiletries from Wings Group Indonesia, amongst others. He is also happily married to the aforementioned girlfriend, Wei Wei, and lives an extremely fulfilling life with their four adorable children.

But more than just a story with the potential to appear in an edition of Chicken Soup for the Businessman's Soul, Wahju's journey tells how the life of a man can be drastically transformed when he willingly works hard and sows abundantly into the kingdom of God.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Wahju started his own business in 1998. Having worked for his brother-in-law for ten years, it took much courage and tenacity for him to strike out on his own. It was especially difficult to deal with the often uncomfortable and awkward process of operating a business separate from the family. He acknowledges that Wei Wei played a critical part in his decision-making process, continually encouraging him and sharing his vision.

Through the next few years, Wahju and Wei Wei struggled to build up their business from scratch while simultaneously avoiding business ventures that would directly compete with their family's dealings. It was a commitment made between themselves—to win back the affection of a family they often felt separated from.

Today, Wahju believes that this commitment trained them to maximize every bit of creative juice they had and further strengthened their resolve to succeed in their business endeavors. Their persistence eventually paid off. Now, they are highly regarded and respected within their family.

DOING BUSINESS JESUS' WAY

Like many other businessmen he knew, Wahju was a tax-evader. However, when he found God in 1998, he made the decision to forever transform the way he runs his business. The first major change Wahju implemented was to stop all his tax evasion activities and pay back in full all he owed through his decade in business. With that came many other difficult financial decisions, such as not undervaluing his goods, and choosing to pay his expatriates in full.

Choosing to do the right thing is often not the easiest route, and in Wahju's case, it resulted in a huge economic impact on his company. The company tax and all that was owed from previous years amounted to a whopping US$1.5 million. Stopping his tax evasion practices was definitely a bold step for him to take, with over five hundred staff and a company that was still trying to find its footing in the industry.

Another tough decision he made was to tithe 10 percent of his earnings to God, above and beyond his personal tithe. This was met with much dissatisfaction and resistance from the CEO of his company, but Wahju stood firm in his conviction. Till now, he strongly believes that for a business to do well, it first has to function in righteousness. That is why even in his personal dealings, Wahju chooses integrity over personal benefit. Says Wahju, "If I choose to be 'grey' and lack conviction when I deal with other areas of my life, I might as well go back to my old ways of doing business ... there is no difference."

He imparts much of his work attitudes to the SVS staff, teaching them to take personal ownership of the company and hold firmly to the truth that God blesses a good steward. This is part of the secret behind his success: a loyal team of workers who have been tremendously blessed by his leadership.

Wahju comments, "People find it hard to believe that we are one of the biggest companies in Papua New Guinea because, half the time, I'm not even there. Yet, everything still runs well. I credit this to God's grace and the excellent stewardship of my staff."

Despite the success that he is seeing in his business, Wahju is determined not to become complacent. He continues to aim for greatness, rather than settle for excellence. In spite of all the difficulties he has faced, Wahju has always chosen to carry a "glass-half-full" attitude throughout life.

In retrospect, Wahju says, "I believe in the law of exponential growth—what is big will get even bigger. Yes, this may apply to the huge amount of tax I had to pay then in order to come clean, but I believe that the principle also applies to my earnings. As long as I work hard and trust in God's goodness, my earnings will always more than cover all I need to pay out."