Meet Chago Davis

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chago Davis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chago, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

I’ve worked in IT since roughly 2000, and there aren’t a lot of Black men in this industry. I’ve more or less had an innate desire to show others that I can excel wherever I’m placed. I’m from Detroit and grew up in a time frame where, statistically, I wasn’t supposed to live past the age of 23. I was told this repeatedly at 17, and it more or less instilled my drive to show everyone that they simply didn’t know anything about my indomitable spirit. I can make failure look good, but I work swiftly on my feet to pivot and correct a problem right away.

I recall working for the number two PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manager) in the country roughly 15 years ago. I got on an elevator with two individuals, and I was wearing a Detroit Tigers fitted cap, jeans, and some Nike Air Force One’s. One of the two individuals got on the elevator, and one of them said, “Hey, how’s it going, Chago?” The other guy was shocked. He was like, “YOU’RE CHAGO?” I said, “Yes, what’s up?” They got off, and I knew what that question meant. I was the Black dude who appeared to be a “Joe Blow” off the street, yet I was the guy sending out communications, running bridge calls, alerting senior VPs, and restoring enterprise-level technical infrastructures/services. Ultimatley, I’m very humble and not competitive the only competion I have is the reflection in MY mirror.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

This will be a doozy, but I’ll try to sum it up and make it entertaining.

I’m originally from Detroit, MI. After an accident and two traumatic events, my best friend asked me to come to Minneapolis while I was recovering. I was only supposed to stay for a week—that was in June of 1997. Yep, I’m still here.

I worked at a job making JcPenney catalogs, but my knee was getting pretty bad. The doctor suggested daily ibuprofen and some other things. Parallel to this job, I was selling marijuana illegally, nothing major—just to people my age in my small apartment building. At one point, I told the friend who invited me to Minneapolis, “Man, I’m about to stop. I had honors physics in high school, and I’m going to take the money I’ve recouped, buy more, and apply it to classes to become an air traffic controller or something.” (I have a fascination with jets). He told me to keep my money and said he’d refer me to an IT program he’d attended. I didn’t make the cut. My son, Amir, was on his way, so I came back three months later and made the class.

Fast forward three months: I left a printing pressroom and was working at IBM Global Services, supporting AMEX brokerage servers. Since then, I’ve worked at almost every Fortune 50 company. During this time, I also wrote an IT curriculum that was utilized in a nonprofit in Toronto. Ultimately, I’d like to create a scenario to show kids, especially Black men, who may not have the funds for college that there are more options than the military to gain access to the IT sector.

Over the years, my first business was Illuze Web Solutions, which I started by making websites for former UFC MMA fighters. I’ve had a few business ventures since then: BYA Clothing (x gamer based tee line initially), NoirInBusiness (a Black-owned business directory), Yakini Beard Oil, Illan Drink Kits, GoMay Cooks (an online cooking recipe endeavor), and lately, I’ve started GoMay Travel. I’m a huge advocate for anyone around me honing what they love and monetizing it to become a stream of income. My parents pushed the idea of getting a degree, landing a good job, and retiring from the same company. I believe that era is gone. If you don’t have a few streams of income, you are setting yourself up for disaster. I’m the person who doesn’t just mentions someones name it will be Derek “the guy that’s a dj”, Jay “that has an electrician business”, Richelle “the realtor”. I inject individuals business whenever I can to potentially assist their business.

My apologies for the long read.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

My ability to be quiet and contain my emotions is a huge asset. I’m “shy” and not an extrovert, which helps immensely. I think people who are quiet, listen, and view things from both sides will excel. Time management is paramount. I grind my teeth at people who whine about not having time to do things, yet can binge-watch a series on Netflix for over eight hours.

Regarding business, I would tell people to focus on what they truly enjoy. People can tell when you are passionate about something, and once you hone those skills, they won’t hesitate to pay you for it.

Oh, and most definitely, don’t go into endeavors focused on the pros, like “My family will support me” or “my friends will support me.” You should focus on the cons. Your primary thought should be, “What if this or that doesn’t work?” If you knock out the cons, there’s no way you can lose.

That was 4 I mean I’m a Detroit Public School kid, give me a break. lol

Bonus, watch There Will Be Blood; it is a prime example of someone driven by the pursuit of money. Also, listen to Alan Watts’s “What If Money Wasn’t an Object” monthly.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

I think my parents were paramount in my development. My father is a very quiet man; he makes people uneasy because of it, but I know now that he is highly analytical. He would listen to my uncles debate political events for 20 minutes or so and then could end the entire debate in a single sentence.

My mom, on the other hand, is an extrovert but is more academically astute than my dad. My father has roughly an 11th-grade education, but he’s very smart and could have easily been a lawyer. Back to my mom, she’s a live wire. She definitely personifies a time and place for certain movements. She’s the type who can be sitting at her desk, drop a few f-bombs here and there, answer her phone like she’s working for a major business entity, hang up, hear her favorite song on the radio, and yell, “Turn that shit up!”

My parents personify a yin-yang personality. My father is okay with eating off a folding church table, while my mom has an Italian marble table in our dining room. My pop wore coveralls almost everyday my mom wore exotic skin pumps, dresses, & had every designer bag before it was a thing to have. My father worked for Chrysler, but always had a six-stall mechanic garage and eventually bought numerous rental properties. My mom worked for an accountant and later started her own accounting and bookkeeping services. They’re still water and oil seeing the 2 of them is nothing short of comedy at times but it’s great..

Contact Info:

• Website: https://illuzeweb.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chago/