• Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Flickr
  • Slideshare
  • Rss
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
SBDC Tampa Bay
  • Home
  • Solutions
    • Certifications
      • Business Certifications
      • Minority-Owned Business
      • Woman-Owned Business
      • Veteran-Owned Business
    • Consulting & Training
      • Training
      • Training Calendar
      • Consulting
      • Schedule a Consultant
    • Business Solutions
      • Growth Acceleration
      • Government Contracting
      • International Trade
      • Starting Your Business
      • Disaster Preparedness
      • Student Teams
      • Organizational Development
  • Resources
    • Business Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Insights
    • Blog
    • Media Inquiries
  • About Us
    • Mission / Vision
    • Consultants
    • Meet the Staff
    • Meet Our Clients
    • Partners / Affiliates
  • Training
    • Training Calendar
    • On-Demand Training
  • Results
    • Success Stories
    • Economic Impact
  • Locations
    • Tampa
    • Hillsborough
    • Hernando County
    • Pinellas County
    • Highlands, Hardee, DeSoto
    • Polk County
    • Manatee
    • Sarasota
  • Contact
  • Schedule a Consultant
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Blog

Burgin Farms positioned for future growth with local resource assistance

Featured News, SBDC News, Success Stories

M F Burgin Inc of Hardee County

Burgin Farms positioned for future growth with local resource assistanceCaleb Burgin was bound to go into the family business. Started by his grandfather after he retired from a career with A & P grocery, the wholesale fruit and vegetable business, launched in 1981. It has now been passed down to the third generation of Burgins.

“My grandfather started in the produce industry in 1946,” he said. “He retired from A & P and he went to work for another farm and as he was working for that farm, he ended up starting a brokerage office.”

Caleb began working for his own father, at Burgin Farms, as young as 12. “I liked it. It was fast-paced,” he recalled. While Caleb liked the environment, he knew when he was handed the reigns that he couldn’t continue business the way they’d always done it. To change things, he was going to need some guidance along the way.

“Finding the SBDC was more like an evolution,” he said. “I knew when I started that we had to do paperwork better. This year I got full control of the finances of the business and I was like I’m out of my league and I want to make sure we have a strong financial background going forward, so I started looking for a business adviser. I found the SBDC website and I thought I might as well try it and it’s worked out pretty good.”

Originally seeking access to capital to help grow the business, Caleb worked with business consultant Brad Owens, at the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida, to figure out his options. Owens reviewed four years of business financials and helped guide Caleb through the process of securing $150,000 from Regions Bank.

Caleb has been able to grow the business in many ways since taking the lead, including increasing sales from $2 million to an average of $4 million, as well as opening an additional location at the Wauchula State Farmers Market.

“Probably my biggest success was coming down here to Wauchula and starting up something new with growers,” he said. “Before, everything was brokerage and I realized that if I didn’t do something different we were gonna atrophy and die.” The business also continues to have a presence in Plant City.

While he’s already seen success in working with the Florida SBDC at USF, he has no plans to stop now. Currently, Owens is working on a Growth Acceleration report for Burgin Farms.

“They’re gonna dig through everything and show me my weak points and my strong points and we’re gonna build a plan based on the information that they find and figure out a way that we can maximize our profits and cut out dead wood so that we can go stronger into the future,” Caleb said.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://sbdctampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Burgin-Farms-Pic.jpg 1080 739 admin /wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Locked-Host-Logos-Horizontal-USF-Small-e1635274663378.png admin2018-11-16 20:09:222021-12-15 02:25:40Burgin Farms positioned for future growth with local resource assistance
Subscribe to Newsletter

Categories

  • Business Essentials
  • Business Plans
  • Buying a Business
  • Certifications
  • COVID-19
  • Crowdfunding
  • Disaster Preparedness
  • Economic Development
  • Finance
  • Government Contracting
  • Growing Your Business
  • Healthcare
  • Human Resources
  • International Trade
  • Marketing
  • Press Releases
  • Radio and Podcast
  • Starting a Business
  • Success Stories
  • Success Stories Videos
  • Tech Commercialization/Tech Transfer
  • Veteran
  • Web and Social Media

Contact Us

Regional Office Contact Info

USF CONNECT
3802 Spectrum Blvd., Suite 201
Tampa, FL 33612

813-396-2700

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Florida SBDC Network

The Florida SBDC at the University of South Florida is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide partnership program nationally accredited by the Association of America’s SBDCs and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida, and other private and public partners, with the University of West Florida serving as the network’s lead host institution. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals.

Logos

Business Assistance

USFMuma

State Designated as Florida’s Principal Provider of Business Assistance [§ 288.01, Fla. Stat.]

© Florida SBDC at USF | contact webmaster
Demand generation business breaking recordsDemand generation business breaking recordsTampa duo take business from 50 to 500 clients in one yearTampa duo take business from 50 to 500 clients in one year
Scroll to top