Spotlight: Shawn Beach x Dope Junkyard

All it took was an idea and Dope Junkyard was born. Shawn Beach always enjoyed thrifting, but found that it was difficult to find dope items. He also didn't like the fact that new and old items weren't together. Dope Junkyard offered a solution to both of those problems. Beach, a rising junior at the University of South Carolina started the online thrift store that has been getting a lot of buzz lately. 

You created this on your college campus, how was the process of starting a business while in school?

The process of starting a business while in school was definitely challenging. From when I started and even currently I feel like my grades aren't as good as they could be because I put all my focus into my store, and all I can think about in class is my store. Everyday its like I am daydreaming about Dope Junkyard and my teachers are talking to me saying “blah blah blah blah blah”. Haha but no the good thing is that most of my teachers have taught me a lot and have had some experience in Retail so they always give me pointers and support. Its awesome.

 How has the response been to your online store?

The response has been amazing to my online store. This is still the first year of my store and it has allowed me to meet people all over the world. People have been supporting me in California, New York, Canada, Amsterdam, Ohio, Texas, Florida, and more. Its truly amazing and it still seems like a dream.

Everyone is in to thrifting now, do you have any advice on how to find the best pieces?

If you want to find the best pieces when you thrift just go for what you like and don’t worry about what everyone else is wearing.

Broke2Dope likes to showcase young entrepreneurs, what are your views on entrepreneurship? Any advice to give to other students looking to start their own business?

I definitely support entrepreneurship 100%. I think more people are looking to be entrepreneurs now which is dope. It is an extremely challenging field to get in because of the simple fact that most start up businesses don’t make it past 10 years. But my advice to any one who is looking to start their own business is to do what you love, do what you are gifted at doing. Most people think they can do what everybody else is doing to get quick money but in reality the people who make it are the people who never have the money in my mind but just the happiness of doing what they love. People will always be able to tell what is a natural gift to you, and people will always be able to tell if your forcing something. Do what you love. 

How can one submit clothing to DopeJunkyard?

You can submit items through Dope Junkyard by going through the Submit Page on the store. Dope Junkyard is not limited to clothes; we also are doing work with art, furniture, home décor, and more.