Small businesses get cracking with help from free incubator OC MADE
Bibiana Burciaga has a background in real estate finance but her real passion is food, which came in handy nearly a decade ago when the Newport Beach resident’s hobby helped her father recover from ongoing chemotherapy treatments.
“I was seeing my dad suffer during his treatments,” she recalled. “[Patients] were not being provided with nourishing snacks, so I decided to create a product that would help them tackle those issues.”
Burciaga went into the kitchen and perfected a snack bar that would provide healthy nutrients and also appeal to chemotherapy patients, whose tastes can change when they undergo treatment.
She called it Bibi Bar. And even as she continued to work her 9 to 5 day job, Burciaga frequently whipped up batches to share with friends or family members.
But it wasn’t until recently that Bibi Bars transitioned from a labor of love into a full-fledged business, with the help of a free local program designed to turn dreams into action.
OC MADE pairs people like Burciaga with professionals and consultants who can help ready them for the local marketplace.
Offered through the Orange County/Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Network and presented by Cal State University Fullerton’s SBDC, the four-week course covers everything from packaging and production to branding and marketing, according to CSUF SBDC Director Manal Richa.
At its completion, participants “graduate” in a ceremony at the Original O.C. Swap Meet at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, where they are given a free vendor stall for the day to introduce their products and, in some cases, make their very first sale.
“This is their first step to validating their business and, as they graduate, validating their products — it’s the beginning of the journey,” Richa said Wednesday. “By week five, they’re at the launch with products that are packaged and labelled, and they’re ready to accept payment in a live market.”
OC MADE debuted in November 2018 and graduated four cohort groups before the pandemic put the brakes on local commerce, Richa said. Now, as the fairgrounds reopen to regular events and with the O.C. Swap Meet under new ownership, it was the right time for a return.
Including the 13 entrepreneurs who graduated Saturday, more than 100 people have gone through the program. Richa said many continue as vendors at the O.C. Swap Meet, while others may consider expanding even further.
“For some of our program participants, this is the start of a bigger journey, where they’ve gone on to start an online business or even launched a storefront business,” she added.
That’s something Newport Beach entrepreneur Connie Chiu hopes could happen with Chemisphere & Co., a business she created to sell natural and environmentally sustainable candles and essential oil products.
A marketing employee in the e-commerce sector completing her master’s degree in fashion merchandising, Chiu had some ideas about launching her own product line, but not much else when she first heard about the SBDC from a friend.
“I asked her how could I start? How can I register for a company — I know nothing — is there an application process?” she recalled. “And my friend said, ‘Have you heard about SBDC?’”
In the span of a month, consultants with OC MADE helped Chiu figure out a brand for her company and create her own business logo.
“Without OC MADE to help, I don’t think I would have stepped outside my comfort zone,” she said Wednesday.
Richa said CSU Fullerton’s Small Business Development Center has a mission of helping entrepreneurs start and establish local enterprises because small businesses are the backbone of Orange County and, more broadly, the nation.
The partnership is also good for the business of the O.C. Swap Meet, according to David “DL” Sesena, the organizer who resurrected the event after a pandemic closure. It fosters a spirit of community while bringing in new vendors, he said.
“Mom and pop shops start there and can grow, or they can stay, but they’ll always remember where they started,” Sesena added. “The roots will always be there.”
Burciaga, who plans to continue at the swap meet while looking for new locations to market Bibi Bars, will never forget making her first sale on Saturday.
“Something shifted in my mindset, and it became real,” she said.
Plans are in the works for another OC MADE course to begin in October. For more, visit ociesmallbusiness.org or call (800) 616-7232.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
