War Vets Urged to Attend

Military veterans are encouraged to attend a free business seminar and lunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. November 2 at the Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Building. The Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Alliance Traveling Chapter and Small Business Development Center of California are sponsoring the seminar.

With 30,000 disabled military men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan to live in California, providing understanding, support, and opportunity are crucial to their successful return to civilian life, organizers said. With veteran unemployment four times the national average, entrepreneurial opportunity is critical to helping them create financial independence, support their families, and create new jobs, they said.

“The Traveling Chapter will bring experts from financing, business development, diversity officials, and contract buyers from state agencies and private industry who are eager to support these entrepreneurial warriors,” said Alliance Executive Director Rich Dryden. “Disabled veterans mean business, and this is an opportunity to be explored.”

The Small Business Development Center “Next Steps for Small Business” seminar will help small company owners understand how to expand their operations through social media, learn how to sell to the government, and find benefits of selling internationally.

Each breakout session will feature speakers who will discuss what it takes to be successful in today’s economy. Participants will get small-group, face-to-face contact with panelists from all the breakout topics.

RSVP is required by going to http://californiasbdc.org/nextsteps/sb.

Deckers Sales Jump

In a better-than-expected report October 28, Goleta-based Deckers Outdoors Corp. said its total net sales jumped 49.1 percent to $414.4 million from the third quarter of last year. The shoes and accessories company’s growth in all its divisions, including Ugg boots, and new products along with geographic expansion have helped achieve increased growth, company officials said. U.S. sales for the quarter jumped 26 percent to $257.9 million.

Deckers witnessed increased demand for Uggs in the U.S. market by pushing new styles of men’s products. International sales registered a double increase with an increase in wholesale volumes in the United Kingdom and Benelux, along with an increase in sales because of the transition to a wholesale model. International sales are 37.8 percent of total sales, up from 26.3 percent in the third quarter of 2010.

The company sells in Asia, with Japan and China providing key sales for the Ugg brand. The market in Japan remains somewhat soft because the recent nuclear plant meltdown, but still remains promising, officials said.