Meet Dr. Krystal Tyree | Athletic Trainer & Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Krystal Tyree and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Krystal, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve honestly wanted to start a business for a while now. I do not like working for people or working to make money for other people. I like to do my own thing, on my own time and not live by a certain schedule. My full-time job is in the sports medicine industry. I am an athletic trainer. After completing my post-professional degree, I gained more of an interest in being an entrepreneur and utilizing the knowledge I had gained to try and start my own business in that field. I reached out to different colleagues and friends who had started their own businesses and I even sought out help from SCORE. It was overwhelming and I felt I was way over my head. I then had a child so the idea of starting a business got put on the back burner. Next, the pandemic hit and even though I was working from home and had a newborn, I was still looking for things to occupy my time, so I started making wood signs. I bought a Cricut to make the lettering and that eventually turned t-shirt making. One shirt order or wood sign turned into 5, that then turned into 10, and so forth. I was getting business traction and started to learn more about clothing industry and how to utilize my Cricut to it potential. Later, I signed up for a group business coaching program that gave me the tools I needed to successfully start a business the right way. I went in with my original business plan within the sports medicine industry, but used the tools to also start RyLand & Co. It is named after my daughter with the hopes that by the time she is old enough, she can take over this business as her own and would not have to work for anyone if she did not want to. My FT job as an AT takes up a lot of my time. Time that I do not get to spend with my daughter and do things with her. I’m hoping that with the success of RLC and other business ventures, I will be able to step away from AT full-time so that I can spend more time with my daughter and do things with her.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
During the pandemic, I purchased a Cricut to make wood signs which then turned into making t-shirts! After posting a few of my designs on social media, I had a few friends reach out to ask if I could make them a shirt. It was then that I decided to turn my hobby into a business! RyLand & Co. was named after my daughter Rylann who was born into a year that exposed an even bigger pandemic; the brutal honesty of racial inequality and systemic racism. RLC is an online apparel store dedicated to black culture and black representation. Most of the designs you will see are expressions or comments made from the black and brown community. I think what sets me apart from others is that most of my content is original and/or authentic. It’s actual things that are said or heard. When I see or read something, I take note of it and think how I can incorporate that comment into a t-shirt design. As a person of color, we are often hushed or kept quiet. Our voices fall on deaf ears or are overshadowed by the voices of the privilege. Well, no more! If we cannot say it, then we are going to wear it and wear it proudly! Our voices are powerful. Our voices are important. Our voices are needed. Our voices matter. We make powerful statements and its time that they be heard and seen by everyone. It is a testament of our faith and resilience to overcome the challenges the black community faces EVERY. SINGLE.DAY.

I did not have much of a voice growing up. I am not sure why but if I had to guess, I probably got talked over a lot. In not having a voice or thinking my opinions did not matter, that played a part in my fear of public speaking. However, since starting this business and stepping out of my comfort zone, I no longer carry that fear of public speaking. I am most proud of how I can use my voice now either through speech, text or artistic design. I wear a lot of hats and people know me through the different “hats” that I wear.

I credit the group business coaching program, my faith and family, ATtwitter, other SoMo platforms, my repeat customers and my small village of people that help me with Rylann.

I am not where I want to be business wise, but I am where I need to be right now. It was not easy. Especially as a single mom. I’ve learned to prioritize and be organized and look at other businesses like mine and mimic what they do. I also do this thing called batching. You basically do a whole bunch of work on one thing so that you get so far ahead you do not have to do it for a while. So, for example, I use a content planner for social media and plan out the content I am going to post a month at a time.

One of the lessons I’ve learned is that you cannot do a million things at once. I say I am a multi-tasker, but no one is really a multi-tasker.  Multi-tasking is a myth. The brain cannot perform two tasks that require high-level brain function at once. What you are doing is just switching between tasks.

I have also learned “you cannot do what is next until you do what is first.” I need to focus on one project first before I move on to the next one. My brand and story are just starting but I cannot wait to see how it grows and becomes well known in the clothing industry.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Ok, so I live in Houston and we have the best black-owned restaurants – hands down. I guess you can say I like to eat lol.

We would first do brunch at either 8:46 Resto or Cafe Rian.

ErmaRose Winery for some mid-day drinks and snacks.

Head to the museum district to tour the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Natural Science and/or Houston Zoo. While we are downtown visit the Water Wall.

Take a trip to Galveston Island to walk along the beach, have some Landry’s Seafood, check out Moody Gardens and Pleasure Pier amusement park.

Head back to Houston and grab some Upper Kirby Bistro. Maybe stop at NASA Space Center on the way back.

The next day travel to Kemah to hopefully get some fresh crawfish and walk along the boardwalk site-seeing and shopping. Finish up our shopping back in Houston at the Galleria.

Visit Memorial City for more shopping and visit one of the many sushi restaurants nearby.

On the last day, visit Margaritaville in Conroe for some massages, pampering and relaxing by the pool.

Several other places to visit if you like the outdoors, sports bars or just food in general – Pitch 25 and/or Discovery Green.

This list does not even scratch the surface of the many things you can do in Houston. Houston really needs it own passport so you can make sure you have visited and toured everything!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Gosh there has been several things that have manifested over the years that has probably contributed to where I am now.

First and foremost, all glory to God.

My family, faith and inner circle of friends.

The Sermon by Jerry Autry “Big Faith Moves”

If I ever needed an answer on if I needed to start a business, the answer was in this sermon.

The Book – “Unthinkable” by Mia K. Wright. She is the co-pastor of my church; the Fountain of Praise in Houston, TX. The book covers stories of women in the bible who pushed past the limits and the rules placed on them in society, took action and did the “unthinkable.” MUST READ!

Mentorship from Alisha & Maurice Pennington. Alisha is an AT & successful multi-million business owner. I took their group business coaching program and much of the reason why RLC exist today is through the tools they gave me to start a business.

Website: www.rylandandco.com

Instagram: rylandandco (business) capital_kt (personal)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-krystal-tyree-dat-lat-atc-84570145

Twitter: capital_kt (personal)

Facebook: rylandandcoapparel (RyLand&Co) dfndblk (DFND BLK)

Image Credits
inhermindseyesdesignes image credit to RyLand & Co Logo