“I say that every day, I have no idea what I’m doing, I think that that’s the key word or phrase for entrepreneurs.” – Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez
Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez got her start in the entrepreneurial world at a young age. She started selling candy bars in her neighborhood and to peers at school, and even had a paper route, all before she even made it to high school.
Unfortunately, Alyza didn’t have anyone in her family who could mentor her in how to build her own business, so she jumped right in on her own. She learned everything as she went and did it all on her own.
In 2015 Alyza and her wife started a fitness apparel clothing line, which then became a brick and mortar store. While they were getting everything up and running, Alyza had to do a lot of internal work and commit to personal growth.
Not only was she deployed while they were just getting started, she also had to deal with Covid. Needless to say, she had a lot of external barriers to work through while trying to learn and grow with her wife.
Even though she and her wife had to overcome so many hurdles, their business is still going strong. They now have two locations and are now turning the store into a franchise. Listen in to hear all of her thoughts about the struggles of starting a business, and what bravery looks like to her.
ABOUT THE GUEST
Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez
As a 10 year U.S. Navy Veteran, Alyza has served 4 tours as a military police officer. In her day-to-day life, she also serves as the Director of Policy for Metropolitan Transportation Authority HQ. A combat Veteran and woman of many hats, Alyza explored her entrepreneurial spirit back in 2015, creating SW3AT. This fitness apparel line was developed into a brick and mortar infrared sauna studio specializing in heat therapy. With 2 thriving locations, she realized her dominance in an emerging market and franchised the business.
Alyza is committed to empowering others with ownership, especially those from marginalized communities. Alyza has received an abundance of recognition on both educational, military and entrepreneurial fronts. John Jay College awarded Alyza with their Graduate Achievement Award and the T-Mobile Graduate Award for Veterans for all of her hard work in and outside of the classroom. She was also named Sailor of the Year in 2018, Mindbody’s Diversity and Inclusion Award and NJ Biz Top 40 under 40.
She is devoted to breaking the recurrence of generational adversity by empowering underserved communities with inspiration and resources while also ensuring social impact is at the core of all of her endeavors.
