Today we’d like to introduce you to Devon Moon.
Hi Devon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In 2019, I was coming home from college with my brother, Darien Cone, for the summer semester looking to continue my path of being a Youtube creator. While I was back home momentarily, my other brother, Elijah Hall, came to me with the idea that we should start a clothing brand together that he’d been thinking about. He wanted to call it Kartel. I loved the idea so much that when the next semester started, I used most of my school refund to invest in a camera. My vision was not only to use the camera for photoshoots specifically for the brand only but also to use it to make videos for my Youtube Channel. As I continued my studies in college, my brother, Darien Cone, played on the basketball team. I recorded every home game intending to create memories for us while we were in college. By the time the season ended due to covid, I’d become brothers with other players on the team, making highlight reels for them. This ignited and displayed my potential/skills, drawing clientele and friends toward me. When covid hit, I took a break from school and didn’t return for the fall semester of 2020. I began to gain responsibilities at the end of 2020 that required me to get a job to help myself and my family. That’s when I decided to work towards making photography/videography my career and not just a hobby/gig anymore. At the start of 2021, God told me to quit my full-time job in car detailing to become a contractor working under contracts/retainer work with local businesses. From then on, I expanded working with other businesses & business owners and began the startup of my production company, Reel Dreamers LLC.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
This has been my most challenging journey yet. In 2021 I lost my job contracting for Statesboro’s Dodge car dealership. I was jobless for 6 months looking for work. I was living on savings and credit cards. Once my savings ran out and my credit cards maxed out, each day was a battle to support myself financially. No matter what I did, where I applied, and how much I followed up, I couldn’t get in a position to bring in income. I had to sit down and reevaluate my situation and who I was for God and others around me. From the day I lost the job, I knew it was God’s doing because nothing just happens. I was trying to figure out what he was planning. Amidst all the depression, self-hate, doubt, guilt, & negativity I was going through, God gave me my greatest idea yet. On my previous birthday, September 4th of, 2020, I began searching for a business name and idea. Fast forward a year later, while I was jobless and struggling, I came up with the idea and made Reel Dreamers official on my birthday. Had I not been let go from that job, I never would have come up with the business. And as time went on, as I continued to make it by month by month barely, I realized what God was teaching me. It wasn’t about what I was doing during my months of searching for work in every way possible, but who I was while going through the storm. Sometimes it’s not about how you are doing but how you are being. Being jobless and dead broke helped me put my faith in God like never before. He blocked me from getting jobs I was easily qualified for to teach and nurture me for my next journey in life.
As you know, we’re big fans of Reel Dreamers LLC. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with the brand?
Reel Dreamers is a new production company I started specializing in photography, videography, and cinematography. We want to develop this brand/company into something much bigger than a production team. We look to change the narrative of being “behind the camera” within my community. We want to show that there are other careers to get into rather than the typical ones my community glorifies. It’s bigger than just being a successful entrepreneur. It’s about creating memories that last a lifetime and showing our lives from a different perspective. Sometimes we take moments for granted, and sometimes the camera helps us appreciate the moment more. Reel Dreamers will mean so much more than just an ordinary business because God gave me my best idea during my roughest time in life. We offer diverse services such as weddings, cinematography, and photography. We specialize in creating content, helping individuals and brands market, advertise, and rebrand their products/businesses. Our work/projects can be viewed on our website. Any inquiries or messages can be left on the website under the contacts page.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting?
If you’re starting in the photography, videography, & cinematography world, you have everything you need in front of you! In this industry, it’s easy to think you need better equipment, more space, more time, etc., to take a photo or make a film. You don’t need it! God gave you everything you have in front of you for a reason, so master it. The equipment is never more important than the one holding it. You can’t manage $100,000 with a $10,000 mindset. Don’t yearn for approval or seek validation to become who you desire to be. Someone once told me, “You’re not who you think you are, but whatever you think, you are.”
Contact Info:
- Website: Thereeldreamers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flmrmoon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devon.h.moon/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXd2z6sbR_Tr0ItJLHBxTvg
