We were lucky to catch up with Chavar Dontae recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chavar, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Going into music as a professional felt like a big risk based on the opinions of people outside of the profession. To me, it is something I’m passionate about so I went after it. While in music school I started a business teaching private music lessons. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit.

Ultimately, my business became a mix of performing as an artist, songwriting, music production and recording.
I’ve also owned a construction company as an additional revenue stream. The risk was having no assurance that any of my ideas would work. There was no guarantee I would generate income for myself or others.

Currently, I have my own studio in downtown Toledo, Ohio where I work on creating music, most of which I finish in Los Angeles. I tour playing music and release music in physical formats such as vinyl. In addition, I have a music education studio.

Chavar, 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?

Getting started in music was as simple as going to purchase a guitar and having an enormous love for music. I took some lessons and decided to go to music school to learn more about the discipline. I had great teachers on my journey. Having great teachers is partly why I allocate some time to teach myself.

As an artist, songwriter and producer, I just create and live out my truth in the music. It always inspires me when I learn how much a song can impact another person.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to learn how unlearn the need to be in control of every aspect of the business. Which led to learning the value of building a great team. Partnering with people that I think can fit and trusting their unique abilities. Growing up around a small business, learned to learn something about every aspect of the process of the job at had. That’s great, however, building the right team in addition to that is even better.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

There was a point where I started another business that was very profitable. The point was to have another stream of income to help fund my primary business. Instead of seeking out an investor or taking out loans, I created another stream of income to help the business reach its goals.   

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chavardontae.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chavardontae.
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chavardontae.
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chavardontae
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chavardontae.
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/chavardontae