We recently connected with Seda Turhan and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Seda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” Albert Einstein
I’m not saying it; Einstein is saying it. Therefore, we should not be afraid to dream. To be successful, you must first dream, then believe, and then work for what you believe. Not expecting anyone to believe you.
I recently did a glass ceiling research for a congress. It is claimed that limits are placed on you under the Glass Ceiling, and it talks about these barriers as invisible barriers. I think the height of your dreams is the height of your glass ceiling. So do not be afraid to dream, to carry them up. It happens, or it doesn’t. But I think the beginning of this work is to dream. Then you have to believe in your dream. Believe for yourself before you expect anyone to believe it. You will succeed or fail; that is debatable. When you do your best to achieve what you believe in, even that will make you happy. We may fail from time to time. What do we call this failure, actually? According to whom and according to what, we are talking about a success…
If you can put these in your pocket and say that these are experiences for me and continue on your way, I think nothing can stand in front of us. Goals need to be set sharply. When we encounter obstacles on the way to our goal, it is necessary to change the way we go, not the goal. Unfortunately, no road is straight. So you set your goal, imagine it, and believe it. When obstacles are in front of you on your way to success, if you change that target at every obstacle, that road never ends. That’s why I say keep your goal stable. Try different ways to go; one road will definitely lead there. My most extensive advice is to try to find what makes you happy. Get to know yourself. Because when we see what we’re happy with, we don’t feel like we’ve ever worked and are tired. I think success comes first with happiness.
You need to walk towards your goal with sure steps on the path you believe in, without worrying about a job not being done by your fellows before you, not having role models for you, and not being worried about someone telling you that you can’t do this job. When obstacles arise, you need to change the path to the goal, not your goal.
Seda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was born in Istanbul, Turkiye. I am a graduate of İstanbul Technical University, Maritime Faculty. I am a Maritime Transportation Management Engineer and an Oceangoing Master. I started my maritime career as an intern on commercial cargo vessels and continued as the first female captain of the company by becoming a ship captain. In the following years, I transferred to the office. I was a consultant on corporate and sectoral projects (implementing national and international regulations, adapting to new regulations, digital data preparation, and ship management software). In the same years, I served as General Secretary and Head of the Women’s Working Group at the Chamber of Marine Engineers. At the end of 2017, I set sail to a new horizon with my experience gained in onboard life, private sector, and non-governmental organizations and decided to become an investor, and I’ve moved to the USA. I am the founding partner of Domer Trade and Domer Marine, located in Florida, take the container experience to a different level, and develop environmentally friendly, sustainable recycling projects from containers. In addition, I serve on the Florida Turkish American Association (FTAA) Board of Directors and Chair of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International Mugla-Turkiye(GFLSCI). I am a member of WISTA USA and Turkiye.(Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association) I am married and have a daughter.
As Domer Trade, we carry out container transformation projects. We transform the containers we have carried for years into living spaces or desired projects. Containers are excellent and valuable materials that can be used for steel construction. It’s a trendy and supported topic in the USA right now. I have personally seen how durable they are on the ship. The region where I live in the USA is a hurricane zone, and people live in constant fear. I met Hurricane Irma the first year I came here. It didn’t hit our territory, but there was a crazy Irma scare. That year, I learned what happened on the land because of the hurricane. We also manufacture hurricane shelters. In addition, we made many office containers during and before the pandemic. The ceiling and sidewalls of the containers are covered with insulating material, flooring is made, air conditioning is added, and all electrical installations are completed. Apart from offices and shelters, we have projects for houses, cafes, restaurants, warehouses, toilets, and showers. Briefly, it is possible to make different living spaces that are requested.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My business partner and the founding partner of Domer Trade &Domer Marine, Derya Yenice Oflu, and I graduated from the same school (Istanbul Technical University, Maritime Faculty). But our genuine sincerity developed during the preparation period for the Yakamoz Sea and Women Symposiums rather than during our school years. We were both on the symposium’s organizing committee and worked very hard and closely. Since 2015, we have been fighting together without leaving. She is one of Turkey’s first female chief engineers. At the end of 2017, we decided to significantly change our careers, and our entrepreneurial adventure started in the USA. As two sailor families, two sailor women, and two mothers of daughters, we have been walking on the same road to the same destination for years. Finding a suitable companion with the same values as you in this life is not always possible. I always feel so lucky to be together.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
When I started my maritime life, unfortunately, there were not many women in the sector. Mainly I was unaware of the existence of female seafarers who would work on the ship like me. I did not have a role model I could take as an example while embarking on this path. At first, I came across many people who said that we could not do this job as women and that working at sea was not for women. I saw the difficulties faced while finding an internship. Although all the signs pointed to me choosing another profession, I did not give up. When I look back, I say I’m glad I didn’t give up. After years of proving myself, I got what I wanted and became one of my country’s first female oceangoing masters. Afterward, I showed them that it can be done if they wish to by sharing my journey and experiences with the people behind me, especially female students. In a program I attended, we discussed breaking the glass ceiling in the maritime industry. In fact, this is precisely what we experienced, what was presented to us. Imaginary and unreal boundaries were set upon us. There was talk of invisible barriers. But as I always say, the height of the glass ceiling, the height of the limits placed on you, is actually the height of your dreams. So keep your dreams as high as possible thus, you can easily pass the invisible barriers. The fact that someone before you did not show this courage, should never stop you from your path. Because of all these experiences, I say dreaming and believing are half the success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.domertrade.com
- Instagram: domertrade
- Linkedin: Seda Turhan
Image Credits
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