We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Donte’ Churchill. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Donte’ below.
Donte’, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?
What my parents did right is they had me as a son! Just kidding! I am extremely thankful for my parents because they kept me out of harms way. We moved to the suburbs, I played sports and I was able to find a crew of fellas who lived in the neighborhood and were about the same things. There are at least 10 of us that have been friends for over 30 years! We were more concerned with having fun, than getting in trouble (although sometimes there was a fine line between the two). I remember when I was young (maybe just starting high school) and my mom told me that I will always have a place to stay at home, so don’t take any mess from anyone. That always stuck with me because it instilled a level of confidence in me. I have always used my voice and expressed my opinions regardless of who, or how many people are in favor of, or opposed to what I think. My parents did many things that didn’t make sense in the past, that I ‘m thankful for today.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am Donte’ Churchill…the Owner of Go Get It Gear and Founder of Help The Homies Non-Profit. I officially started my own brand during Covid. Prior to that I would write motivational quotes. People would tell me that they liked my quotes (all original ) and that they would be interested in hearing them regularly and even to the extent of following me on social media to read them. This is what prompted me to get an Instagram. I remember complaining about not knowing how to work Instagram and my coworker Toni took my phone, snapped a selfie of us and posted it for me…that how my Instagram started. I would post motivational quotes everyday and the idea evolved into putting these quotes on different types of merchandise. The idea became reality when my girlfriend snuck into my quote book and took pictures of a handful of my quotes. That year I received 3, or 4 t-shirts with my quotes on them for Christmas (thanks Crystal). I volunteer at The Rock Thrift Store and I remember wearing one of my shirts to work one day. My coworker Rod liked it and asked me how much one would cost. I told him $25, so he pulled out the money and said he wanted one. He asked about his shirt the next couple of times that I saw him.This is when Rod took on a mentorship type role and began breaking down to me the way the business works. Rod is the Owner of Elenex (they produce skateboards and action sportswear) and has been in the business for over a decade! Rod introduced me to a print shop, told me the prices I should be paying, the quality shirts to print on, etc. I eventually got him his shirt! He’s been encouraging and helping me for the past (2) years now. We feed off of each other..Iron Sharpens Iron!
Help The Homies Non-Profit started as an outreach during Covid. Feeding the homeless started in Atlanta about 6, or 7 years ago when I lived there. I had a homeless shelter and a homeless community behind the complex that I lived in. We would take them sack lunches a couple times per month. Fast forward…I moved to San Diego and about (4) years ago I volunteered at Toys For Joy. This is organized once per year (around Christmas) by The Rock Church to provide the community with resources. We helped with food, clothes, haircuts, entertainment, toys, etc. Shortly after I began volunteering at The Rock Thrift Store. Inside the Thrift Store is an area called Angel’s Closet. This is where a person in need can come and get free clothes, blankets, toiletries, etc. Volunteering here opened all sorts of doors. Angel’s closet is a primary resource for the clothing items that I take to the homeless in different areas of San Diego. During my tenure at Angel’s Closet I was introduced to a wonderful woman named Debra, who is the Founder of Feeding The Flock Non-Profit. Debra found out that I go to the homeless communities personally and she began showering me with blessings. I now receive a couple hundred burritos to hand out every week, several hundred Bamba socks, brand new clothes, blessing bags of toiletries, you name it!
Covid was a gift and a curse. I encouraged everyone to find the gift in it. I had time to start my own brand and I was also able to develop my outreach into a non-profit. My brand is different because it works alongside of a non-profit. I use 25% of the Go Get It Gear profits to Help The Homies in the community. If you follow us on social media the transparency is there. It is easy to see us personally giving out the resources that your donation bought, or the ability to provide the Homies with blankets as a result of a couple of t-shirt purchases. With some of these large companies you’re not really sure where your money is going. I’m willing to go do what other people may not have the time, patience, desire, or courage to do. Everyone has a role and they are all important! God’s Work and God’s Plan!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson that stands out is that business is business. I have a positive mission with a quality product. I cannot forget the time and energy that goes into making these products. With that being said, I must always maintain its value. Once I start giving discounts and sales on everything, the customer will expect that all of the time. This is the hardest with family and friends. Your real supporters will pay full price because they understand that you can’t make money giving things away for free. Louis Vitton never has sales…either it’s for you, or it’s not.
That leads us to contracts and deposits. Your time is your money,,,the time that it takes to make a design costs money as well. That needs to be calculated into the pricing of the products. If someone has you start on a project (especially a big one) a contract should be written up detailing the terms of the agreement. A 20% deposit (at least) should be paid upfront. Make it nonrefundable, so the customer will think twice before backing out of the deal. These may be uncomfortable conversations, but they will help protect your business on the long run.
I trusted people in the past and did work without a deposit and the customer changed their mind. I have also sold merchandise for less that it was worth because I didn’t consider the time that I put into the production of the product. They made money and I didn’t. It’s not worth compromising these things for a sale. You don’t want to be the business that is constantly taken advantage of. This is a constant learning curve, but be sure to learn! Trust the Process! Have Faith!
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
My advice for managing a team and maintaining high morale is to lead by example. I remind myself that I am always on stage, so I must remain calm in stressful situations, be as helpful as possible when it’s busy, stay positive and a remain a pleasure to be around. It’s important to do the same things that you ask others to do and vice versa (don’t do the things that you ask others not to do). I like to create incentives…these keep the team performing well and rewards them at the same time. I compliment the team regularly…everyone likes to feel appreciated. I also refer to us as a team because that’s what we are…we all have a common goal of taking care of the customers. The only difference is that I handle the problems if / when they occur. I check in with my team regularly to make sure they have what they need to perform well. Ultimately, I have learned that a happy employee will take care of you and an unhappy employee will steal from you. The people will get their worth one way, or another. You can give it to them, or they will take it. I genuinely like making people happy, so I rather give the team what they want…it also keeps the turnover down.
Contact Info:
- Website: Gogetitgear.com
- Instagram: @Gogetitgear
- Facebook: @Gogetitgear
- Other: email address is [email protected]