“My name is Trevor DeVane McDonald. The brand De’Vane’s literally is in my name and it has been my life for the past 20 years. I built De’Vane’s to create something for my kids to build upon when I am ready to move on to other things. It is hard sometimes for women to get into business, but things are changing and I want to have this foundation for them.
I started thinking what COVID has taught us. During COVID, I literally flourished because De’Vane’s delivers, but De’Vane’s delivers in a different way. We started doing business online during COVID. I did videos where I was just being crazy, just being Trevor. I am genuine and there’s no sales pitch with me. Genuine is who I am and I stand behind that integrity piece. People buy that integrity and they won’t mind because they trust me. I started doing appointments and people would just meet me at the store. I plan continue that on post-COVID and as my business transitions out of the storefront here. Now it’s time to go bigger and better for De’Vane’s
People love that warm feeling that a one-on-one appointment gives them. I thought what if I, Trevor DeVane, came to your business for 15-20 minutes and when I left, you had a full, custom outfit that made you feel confident. People need a certain look for the business that they are in, but they still deserve to be themselves and that is how De’Vane’s is able to help.
From De’Vane’s I’ve been able to give back and mentor six to seven individuals that have become entrepreneurs, just through my experiences here. I’ve helped them find a name, create a business plan, think of ways to be sustainable, and I have even done a small business analysis piece on them, without them having to pay anything for it.
One piece that I love about being in the store here is seeing a person come in one way and then leave fulfilled. The second piece that I love is how I am able to pray for a lot of people here. Many people have come in needing surgery on their knees, I have a moment with them and then they leave a whole different way. I had some young kids come in getting suits for prom. They were all pumped up to get ready for prom and when they left here, they had said they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
I would never have been successful if it was not for my family. When I originally opened up in 2002 in South Hartsville, my wife, Marilyn McDonald, worked for us. She was a registered nurse at that time. She would work night shift, take the kids to school and one point even home schooled them, and then came in to run the store. She did this for five or six years up until the time that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At that point, the store almost stopped. My eldest daughter, Brittany, ended up leaving her two jobs to run the store for us. She didn’t have a clue how to run a store then, but she did know how to ring up groceries, so we were able to continue on and even move Downtown. My other two girls saw what she was doing and started to also take interest. My youngest daughter, Angelique went to Coker University and studied business. She is now our media marketing manager. Angelica, my middle daughter, is a school teacher at Wilson High School. She comes in to make sure we talk properly any time we are on camera. Every Saturday morning, we do live videos from the store with all of my kids and it is like a family reunion for us. So, it’s a family affair here at De’Vane’s and we really are stronger together. I would not have done any of this without them. De’Vane’s is family, faith, and fun.”
-Trevor McDonald, Owner, De’Vane’s