IU’s student-governed organization “Bring Your Own Business” held its first yard sale of the spring semester from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Stateroom East. The club, dedicated to student entrepreneurship and sustainability, has been hosting yard sale events as an opportunity for students to earn money since September 2022.
BYOB was founded by IU senior Mia Liss, who now serves as co-president with fellow IU senior, Bella Habash. Liss studies marketing and digital and social media applications while Habash majors in neuroscience and minors in both business and psychology. Liss came up with the idea for a student yard sale club while protesting the popular consignment chain Plato’s Closet during her sophomore year.
“I’d always tried bringing stuff to Plato’s, and I was over getting almost nothing for what I was giving them,” Liss said. “So I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to have a yard sale by myself.’”
The club started as a way for students to clean out their closets and has since expanded as a way for business owners to market themselves, Liss said. The co-presidents shared that they are always interested to see what everyone is creating and bringing.
“Most people own their own business,” Habash said. “We see things from clothes to handmade jewelry, thrifted things, clothes they’ve made themselves and even food. It’s usually always something they make or that they thrifted for the event.”
While yard sales are open to the public, only IU students who sign up through BYOB before the deadline can sell at the events. Liss and Habash said the club has grown immensely over the last year, amassing a loyal customer and seller base and being sponsored by carbonated beverage brands Celsius and Poppi, which have supplied free drinks at previous events. They also collaborated with IU’s student fashion magazine, SEASON in November.
Jenna Hamdan, a senior fashion design student, started her business, Bracelets and Things, in September. The merchandise includes handmade bracelets, clothing, shoes, hats and other items from her closet. Sunday was Hamdan's fourth time selling at a BYOB event.
“My business has been able to grow, and I have met so many new sellers, people and created a good connection with my consistent customers,” Hamdan said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
Sophomore Sammi Zeldin started her business “Sammi’s Shop” on Depop four years ago while in high school and said she has been a seller at BYOB events since nearly the beginning. Zeldin sells a mix of 1990s and ‘00s women's clothing and true vintage, which are pieces from the ‘60s and ‘70s.
“I’m studying fashion merchandising with minors in design and sustainability,” Zeldin said. “My whole thing is combatting fast fashion. Micro-trends are crazy right now. Shopping second-hand is the big idea.”
On top of school, Zeldin said she tries to dedicate two days a week to work on her business.
Business owners will often promote BYOB events on their personal sites and social media, which draws in a crowd from each shop. Stateroom East was filled with racks, tables and bins from over 60 sellers and shoppers from both campus and the general public.
Sunday was freshmen Molly Zucker and Natalie Slater’s first time attending a BYOB event. They walked out of the crowded yard sale carrying their new purchases in tow.
“I got really excited about the Misfit Perfume,” Slater said. “I bought some perfume from them for a really good price, and I got a jacket I can wear for game days.”
Zucker and Slater said they’re both avid thrifters, which is what drew them to the event.
“I really like the $5 and $10 buckets,” Zucker said. “One thing about thrifting is that I need to not spend as much money. I love looking through those bins and I was able to find some shirts that were not expensive at all.”
Liss and Habash aim to host a yard sale at least once a month. The next event will be on Feb. 11 in the IMU’s Frangipani Room. The time is yet to be announced.
