Sharing and caring

I always wanted to share things, share what I know.

Learn and share. That was something I was always passionate about.

But I wasn’t sure what to share at that point.

I was searching blindly.

If memory serves me right, I first installed WordPress in 2011.

Discovering photography

In 2013 I discovered photography and that was one of the several things that completely changed my life, around the same time.

If you are curious, please check “How photography saved my life“.

I think I registered reflections.digital in 2015.

It was going to be my personal photography portfolio website.

What was a photograph anyway, other than a reflection of the beauty.

A burning desire to travel the world started growing in me after visiting Italy in 2017.

Photography as online business

For that, I needed to turn photography an online business.

There was no other way.

I started watching videos on “how to rank on Youtube.”

Soon realized that it was just a subset of digital marketing that was a subset of marketing and entrepreneurship.

I knew very little about these and started studying.

I was looking for suitable tools as well. But SAAS solutions were expensive.

Somewhere along the way, Photophily was born. I had finally found a good place for photography training platform.

I was still studying business and marketing.

A new direction for Reflections

Reflections was going to be my brain dump; from journaling to technology to travel.

Over the years, I picked some clients. Actually clients picked me up.

This year (2022) we had a wildly successful campaign with a very large client of mine.

Reflections has turned into a boutique digital agency as well.

It became too many things and that was bothering me.

Three legs

Finally, I purchased my name domains, late 2022, this year.

Finally a suitable place for brain dump, my photographs, travel and whatever else I wanted.

And Photophily for photography training. 

And Reflections for business and technology.

Art and business

My study for business and marketing was also over.

Well, actually, the feeling of “I need to learn more” was over.

It may be a more sound business advice to just start and pick things up along the way instead of covering so much ground without taking much action in many years.

But that’s not how I’m wired. I have to get a deep understanding about what I’m doing. Otherwise I can’t rest.

That wiring may also be driving the artist in me. What’s not a very good trait for business is a necessary trait for art.

There is no end in perfecting something. Just like Leonardo said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

The destination for Reflections

Back to the point. I purchased my name domains.

And in 2023, I was finally going back to photography. The circle was about to be complete.

But then, in late October, the idea of making a course on installing and configuring a VPS started itching.

While I was planning the contents of the course, it became clearer to me that I had to get these years of study off my chest.

Then I started planning a series of courses: Online Business Tech Courses.

reflections.digital is now a place for business and technology which I’ve been working on for years.

Finally another piece finds its place in the puzzle, for me.

I’m just sharing the solutions I’ve picked up along the way for my own problems.

I’m planning to keep doing that as the journey continues.

I’m so grateful for all the things.

And so glad that you are here.

Thank you.

Süleyman Dereköy

December 16th, 2022