Building A Life And Businesses Together

For Matt and Ashley Cobb, entrepreneurship is less about owning a business than it is about building a life together: one risk, one idea and one goal at a time.

Long before they were entrepreneurs, business owners and parents of three, they were two teenagers from Topeka who happened to meet at a Mexican restaurant.

Ashley was working as a hostess at Carlos O’Kelly’s during her junior year of high school when Matt walked in as a customer. Ashley immediately caught his eye. A friend noticed that Matt noticed Ashley and stepped in to get her phone number for him.

Matt called that night, and they went on their first date the next evening. A year later, they were engaged. The summer after high school graduation, Matt left for Marine Corps boot camp, and they were married in September. Ashley was 19. Matt was 18.

“We were still babies,” Ashley said.

They may have been young, but they already had an idea of the life they wanted.

“We both wanted to work,” Ashley said. “He wanted a career in military law enforcement, and I wanted a career in nursing.”

They moved to North Carolina, where Matt worked as a Marine Corps military police K-9 handler while Ashley continued nursing school. They also decided to start a family, welcoming their first daughter while Matt was deployed to Iraq.

“I didn’t get to meet her until she was 4 months old,” Matt said.

After four years in the Marine Corps, Matt returned to Topeka and began working for the Topeka Police Department, where he has now spent two decades. Ashley began her nursing career at Stormont Vail.

A HOUSE THAT BECAME A BUSINESS

Their first step into entrepreneurship was almost accidental. In 2012, the couple decided to move into a larger home. They bought the new house before selling their existing one, expecting the first house to sell quickly.

It didn’t. The for-sale sign eventually became a for-rent sign, and that rental property became the beginning of a real estate business that has grown to 39 properties.

Matt manages the portfolio, while his wife helps when needed. The business is built around single-family rental properties, many of which the couple remodels after purchasing.

For Matt, being a landlord is not simply about collecting rent. He believes the quality of the properties and the relationship with tenants matter.

“We pride ourselves on being responsive to our tenants’ needs,” Matt said. “Many people aren’t in a position to buy a house, and it is fulfilling to see a renter move in and have their home on a long-term basis.”

The business has also taught them that entrepreneurship comes with challenges that are often outside an owner’s control.

Rising property taxes and insurance costs have affected the economics of their rental properties. At one point, an insurance increase forced Matt to spend weeks researching alternatives and negotiating a better rate.

BUILDING A SHELTER

Matt’s entrepreneurial interests eventually moved beyond real estate.

The idea for South Wind Shelters & Safe Rooms began during a birthday party at the couple’s home when a dangerous storm hit, and they didn’t have a safe place to find shelter.

Realizing that he wasn’t the only person with this type of safety issue, Matt began researching tornado shelters.

“I couldn’t find anything on the market that checked all the boxes for safety,” Matt said.

So he decided to build his own.

Matt worked with friends in the construction industry to develop a prototype tornado shelter that met all of his specifications.

Then he tested it. He took the prototype to Dallas, where it was tested against Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements, including the impact of 2-by-4 boards fired at the shelter.

The result encouraged him to put his shelters and safe rooms on the market. Over the years, the design has continued to evolve. Today, the tornado shelters are manufactured in Topeka at Harris Fabrication.

“I won’t compromise on safety,” Matt said. “I sell the same shelter that my family relies on when the sirens go off.”

A DIFFERENT KIND OF BUSINESS

While Matt was developing businesses in real estate and tornado shelters, Ashley was developing a different kind of entrepreneurial path.

After nearly two decades working in nursing and health care, in January she opened Salon 360 at 1930 SW Wanamaker Road.

The salon grew from several ideas coming together. Ashley’s longtime hairdresser started talking about her desire to work in a new salon environment. At the same time, Matt and Ashley’s daughter was studying cosmetology. Together, those two realities sparked the idea to open a new type of salon.

Matt and Ashley leased 3,000 square feet of unfinished space and transformed it into a salon with 15 suites and a combination of private, semi-private and open spaces.

“I wanted to create a space that feels organized, creative and focused on helping other people build their own businesses,” Ashley said.

Salon 360 provides space for hair stylists, nail technicians, estheticians and other beauty professionals. Rather than requiring every professional to commit to a traditional full-time arrangement, the salon offers flexibility, including part-time options and shared spaces.

That flexibility is particularly important for professionals who may be building their clientele or approaching retirement.

“I can bring new cosmetologists into Salon 360 and help them grow their own businesses,” Ashley said.

The salon also allows her to combine two parts of her professional identity. After 18 years working at Stormont Vail, Ashley left her job at the end of August to focus full time on the salon and her nursing aesthetics work. Ashley provides aesthetic services, including HydraFacials, chemical peels, microneedling, Botox and dermal fillers.

MAKING TIME

From the outside, Matt and Ashley’s schedule can seem almost impossible.

They have three children. Their oldest daughter is now a registered nurse, married to a soldier and expecting her first child. Their second daughter has completed cosmetology training and is working in a salon. Their youngest is in middle school and plays football, baseball and basketball.

At the same time, the couple manages multiple businesses, full-time careers and the ordinary demands of family life. It’s taught them how to prioritize, communicate and delegate. Technology has also become an important part of their success.

“We couldn’t juggle everything without the help of software and apps,” Ashley said. “We collect rent for our rental properties through an app. People renting the salon space also pay through an app. Scheduling software helps keep track of appointments and helps prevent shared salon spaces from being double-booked.”

CHOOSING TOPEKA

After all of their travels and opportunities elsewhere, Matt and Ashley could have built their businesses somewhere else. Instead, they came home.

“Topeka is where our families and friends are. It is where we wanted to raise our children and build our businesses. It is home,” Ashley said.

The couple has used local economic-development resources, including GO Topeka incentives and Small Business Administration resources, as they have built their businesses.

For them, investing in Topeka is not an isolated decision. They are happy to see other entrepreneurs doing the same thing.

“There are so many entrepreneurs pouring money and resources back into the community,” Matt said. “We are just excited to be included in that group of people trying to make Topeka a better place to live and work.