Freshman becomes business owner with new boutique

Tucked away from the bustle of Fourth Street traffic is Everything Under the Sun.

Located inside the former Hotel Betty Ann, the retail shop has opened its doors for business.

Eighteen-year-old Kyleigh Cobett was prepared to take on a dream that initially surprised her: owning a salon/boutique.

“If someone had told me a year ago that I would be opening my own salon/boutique, I wouldn’t have believed them,” Cobett said.

With savings from her paid internships, the USF St. Petersburg freshman business major used her work experience with Raymond James and Achieva Credit Union to pave the way to her dreams.

By early July, she was ready to settle into her prime location. By mid-July, she was ordering shoes, accessories, dresses, shirts and bags to stock up her boutique.

“I realized I wanted to start a business and this was where I wanted to be. It’s not too mainstream and it has the perfect feel of everything,” Cobett said.

The hair salon Velvet currently occupies the space and is about to fulfill its lease. Cobett formed an agreement to share the space with the salon. The two business owners settled which rooms to use and hope to benefit from the connection. An open floor plan with 1930’s style architecture allows for smaller salon rooms and space to display clothing.

Cobett created her business this past summer with little hesitation.

“If you have a mindset for it and you know where you need to be and when you need to be there, anyone can establish it,” Cobett said. “If you don’t come at it with focus and determination, you just come at it with a ‘Hey, I’ll just try it’ attitude and you won’t amount to the same success as if you had really applied yourself.”

In the future, Cobett would like to expand her store, and eventually occupy the entire building. She visualizes a larger area for the salon and a wider inventory of clothing.

Cobett wants to inspire her generation to reach its goals. She wants that goal to be broader than “I have to go to school for the rest of my life to be something,” she said.

Everything Under the Sun is located at 406 11th Ave. N in St. Petersburg.


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Photo by Daniel Mutter

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