Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Sebagaimana saran dosen, kami fokus pada pendapatan utama dahulu. - As the lecturer suggested, we focus on the main income first.

It means as/just as/as per, introducing a clause done in accordance with something. It’s slightly formal. Near‑synonymous, often more idiomatic alternatives in everyday/formal writing are:

Sesuai (dengan) saran dosen, ... (in accordance with)
Atas saran dosen, ... (at the suggestion of)
Berdasarkan saran dosen, ... (based on)

Use Menurut dosen, ... for “according to the lecturer (in their opinion),” but Menurut saran dosen is less natural than the options above.

Is Sebagaimana saran dosen okay without yang disarankan?

Yes. Sebagaimana saran dosen is grammatical and idiomatic. If you want to foreground the act of advising, you can say Sebagaimana yang disarankan dosen or Sebagaimana disarankan dosen. To specify which lecturer, add kami: Sebagaimana saran dosen kami, .... All are acceptable; the differences are nuance and explicitness.

Why is it dosen and not guru?

Dosen refers to a university/college lecturer or professor. Guru is a teacher at the elementary, middle, or high‑school level. If you mean an academic supervisor, you might say dosen pembimbing.

Why use kami instead of kita?

Kami is “we” that excludes the listener; kita includes the listener. In most narratives or reports, kami is the default “we.” If you are talking to the lecturer and they are part of your team, you could use kita.

Do I need berfokus? What’s the difference between fokus, berfokus, and memfokuskan?

Kami fokus pada ...: very common and fine; fokus functions as a predicate (like “are focused”).
Kami berfokus pada ...: slightly more formal; same meaning.
Kami memfokuskan [sesuatu] pada [objek]: transitive; you must state what you are focusing (e.g., Kami memfokuskan strategi pada pendapatan utama). Form is correct with the prefix: memfokuskan (not “menfokuskan”).

Why is it fokus pada and not ke, di, terhadap, or kepada?

The standard collocation is fokus pada. Notes:

ke is common in casual speech (fokus ke), but not standard in formal writing.
di marks location; fokus di sounds like “to be focused located at,” which is odd unless you mean a place.
terhadap expresses attitude/stance (sikap terhadap); with fokus it’s uncommon.
kepada is generally for recipients (usually people), not abstract targets like pendapatan.

What exactly does pendapatan utama mean? How is it different from penghasilan or pemasukan?

Pendapatan utama: main/primary income or revenue (commonly used in business/finance).
Penghasilan: income/earnings (often personal).
Pemasukan: “money coming in” (informal, broad). Choose based on context. For a company’s revenue streams, pendapatan fits best.

Can utama come before the noun (e.g., utama pendapatan)?

No. In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives normally follow the noun: pendapatan utama. A few adjectives are prenominal (e.g., mantan, seluruh), but utama comes after the noun in phrases like jalan utama, tujuan utama.

What does dahulu add? Could it also mean “long ago”?

Here dahulu means first/beforehand (“as a priority before other things”). It can mean “in the past” in other contexts, but with predicates like fokus ... dahulu, the meaning is “first.” Near synonyms:

Formal/polite: terlebih dahulu
Neutral: lebih dulu
Colloquial: dulu, duluan (very informal)

Where can dahulu be placed?

Most natural is at or near the end: kami fokus pada pendapatan utama dahulu. You can also put it before the predicate: Kami dahulu fokus pada pendapatan utama (slightly marked/emphatic). The clearest and most common choice is ... terlebih dahulu or ... dulu at the end.

Is the comma after Sebagaimana saran dosen necessary?

Recommended, yes. The initial phrase is an introductory adjunct; the comma improves readability: Sebagaimana saran dosen, kami ... Without it, it’s still understandable but less tidy.

Is saran dosen different from saran dari dosen?

Both mean “the lecturer’s advice.” Saran dosen is concise and natural. Saran dari dosen explicitly marks the source; use it if you need to stress origin. In most cases, saran dosen is enough.

Do I need to pluralize saran to saran-saran?

No. Indonesian doesn’t require plural marking. Saran can mean “advice/suggestions” collectively. You can use saran-saran to emphasize multiple distinct suggestions, but it’s usually unnecessary.

What if I want a past, present, or future reading? There’s no tense marking.

Indonesian uses time adverbs and context:

Past: Kami tadi/sudah fokus pada ..., Kemarin kami fokus pada ...
Present/progressive: Kami sedang fokus pada ...
Future: Kami akan fokus pada ..., Nanti kami fokus pada ...

Is dulu the same as dahulu?

They’re near synonyms. Dahulu is a bit more formal or careful; dulu is more common in speech. In this sentence you can say ... pendapatan utama dulu (more casual) or ... terlebih dahulu (more formal/polite).

Does dahulu modify fokus or pendapatan utama? Is there any ambiguity?

It modifies the action fokus (focus first), not the noun pendapatan utama. If you worry about ambiguity, terlebih dahulu makes the “first” meaning clearer: kami fokus pada pendapatan utama terlebih dahulu.