STC Grads Celebrate One Year in Business

Hailey Franka and Leah Brennan just marked a big milestone in their business journey – one year as the owners of Bargain Bins 605 in Brandon.

“It’s been good. It’s been very, very busy. We grew a lot bigger than we anticipated,” Franka said. “We have a big staff – there are 13 of us – and it’s a big operation with the 

challenges that come with it, but it’s added a lot of experience to our plates.”

Brennan had discovered the concept of a bin store in Sioux Falls, which offers deal-seekers weekly changing merchandise as owners source merchandise such as returned or overstocked items from major retailers.

“It’s very labor intensive, and the overhead is high, but I was in it for the humanitarian aspect,” Franka said. “We get messages from people crying because they were able to afford a gift. And it’s the environmental aspect. We’re really big on not throwing anything away.”

The co-owners, who have known each other since elementary school, are both Southeast Tech graduates who studied business. They focused on raising families and working at other jobs before “we decided to put our business degrees to use,” Franka said.

“There were a lot of things I learned at Southeast in terms of business planning – how to make a plan to figure certain things out before you open. Our HR classes helped with bringing in staff, and my accounting classes helped a lot with the books.”

She had a 1-year-old when she started school and also held a full-time job.

“I was an online-only student, and I don’t think I would have been able to do it any other way,” she said. “It gave me the balance I needed.”

One of their instructors has shopped at the store. Because of their education foundation and willingness to keep learning, Franka said they’re showing their kids what business ownership is all about.

“It teaches them not to give up,” she said. “There’s a lot of setbacks when you open a new business with no experience, a lot of trial and error. But if you have a dream, it’s what you’ve got to go after.”

Read More about Graduates that own their own businesses.