We were lucky to catch up with Brittney DeJournette recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brittney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My journey to entrepreneurship is a little different from most. It was never my dream to have my own clothing line. The visionary behind our brand was my late husband. After being disabled by a car accident, one day he came to me and said I have an idea for a clothing brand. I told him to go for it because I knew he could do it and it would be successful because he never gave less than 110% on anything he put his hands on. He already had the logo in his mind but took several months to come up with the perfect name. One night while lying in bed he jumped up and went to write something down. The next morning I saw the note on the table that said, “Respect All Cultures Equally”. It needed no explanation. But it meant that no matter where someone comes from or what they look like, we must respect them all the same. The idea and the vision came from the senseless acts of violence that have taken place amongst certain ethnicities and racial groups. But also from the many people Desman, my husband, encountered during his time in the hospital and rehabilitation that didn’t care what color his skin was, they helped him, made sure he was taken care of and most of all they respected him. His vision was to create a logo and a brand that would unify everyone with love and respect.

Brittney, 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 am Brittney DeJournette, the co-founder and co-owner of R.A.C.E. Clothing. Our brand was founded and designed by my late husband, Desman DeJournette. Our brand was only in existence 7 months before Desman passed but I knew I had to keep it going. There was no way I could let him down. R.A.C.E. stands for Respect All Cultures Equally which means that no matter what race, ethnicity, religious belief or cultural background a person possess we must show everyone the same love and respect. Our logo is a representation of 2 different color hands uniting in the shape of a heart with the world in the middle.

We mainly sell unisex clothing such as tshirts, hoodies, sweatsuits and hats. We also feature certain pieces for the ladies and children. The past 2 years we sponsored an academic scholarship for student athletes in our local school systems. We not only sell clothing, but we also help sponsor and donate to events and programs for other local businesses. My purpose is to share my blessings. It’s not all about getting rich or padding my pockets. I want to help others along the way.

What I am most proud of is my drive to keep going. Alot of people don’t know how hard it is to carry on the vision and dream of someone else all while grieving and trying to heal. I want to make this business my own but make sure I keep him in it as well. He’s not here for me to bounce ideas off of so I struggle with the right designs and pieces to release. I get discouraged and definitely ready to quit some days, but I think about him and how passionate he was about his business and it keeps me grounded.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me is word of mouth. A large portion of our clientele comes from someone seeing someone with a shirt or hat on and asking them where they got it. Our logo seems to spark conversation and that leads to an Instagram or Facebook follow which in turn leads to a visit to the website and a potential sale.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Our social media following started on Instagram a few years back. It was about the time when Facebook started to take off again and Instagram was dying down. We created a page and started posting all of our customer photos as well as our products. We didn’t have a website at the time so this was also where we took orders. We made sure to tag any customers we posted and they reposted on their page. This led to more followers and inquiries from their friends and followers. Even though our followers were increasing we were missing a certain targeted group from Facebook. So we created a Facebook page as well as a Snapchat. The spark to our social media following comes from being tagged or reposted by someone with a large number of followers. We currently work with a local DJ who has a large following and he wears our merchandise and tags us in his post. We gain at least 5-10 followers from each of his posts.

My advice for those building a social media presence is to post! Post a lot and often. The more they see you and your business, the more likely they are to follow. Every follower matters and you never know which one may take you to the next level.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.raceclothing.shop
• Instagram: race.clothing
• Facebook: RACE Clothing