Daily Business Report — July 16, 2012

Study: Returning Veterans Struggle
to Afford Housing in San Diego

A study released by the National Housing Conference shows returning veterans often struggle to afford housing in San Diego County upon their return to civilian life. The study was released just prior to the weekend Stand Down for homeless veterans held in Balboa Park. The Paycheck to Paycheck study focuses on housing affordability for five jobs targeted by training programs sponsored by the Department of Labor in partnership with the military and other organizations: carpenters, dental assistants, electricians, firefighters and truck drivers. According to the local data, all of those jobs fall way short of the necessary $84,000 salary needed to afford the median priced home in San Diego County. Worse, only two of those occupations pay enough to cover the rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the region, and none pay enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reports San Diego County has the second-highest percentage of veterans in the country (229,000 veterans or 7.38 percent of the county’s population).  The Regional Task Force on the Homeless indicates the number of homeless veterans in San Diego County increased 6.3 percent from 2011 to 2012 (1,649 individuals in 2011 versus 1,753 individuals in 2012).

Camp Pendleton to be Site of Pilot Program to Help
Service Members and Veterans Launch Businesses

Camp Pendleton has been selected as one of four locations for a pilot program by the Small Business Administration for helping armed service members and veterans to become entrepreneurs and create jobs. The SBA is joined by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense in the program, called “Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup.” The national initiative will be piloted by the Marine Corps. “Through this partnership, we stand ready with support, entrepreneurial training and resources that are critical tools to help them start businesses, drive economic growth and create jobs for themselves and their communities,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. Veterans make up a large number of successful small business owners. Nine percent of small businesses are veteran-owned. The other pilot program sites are Quantico, Va., Cherry Point, N.C. and Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif.

Median Asking Price Declines
for San Diego Area Businesses

If you want to buy a business in San Diego, the current median asking price of a company for sale is $193,000, according to BizBuySell.com. A year ago, at the end of the second quarter, the median asking price was $195,000. Median revenue for businesses in the San Diego area during this year’s second quarter was $363,063, down from $371,343 at the same time last year, said BizBuySell. The median cash flow, meaning the money that comes out of the business over the course of a year, was $88,566, versus median cash flows of $92,023 last year.

Tealium Raises $10.5 Million from Battery Ventures

San Diego-based Tealium announced that it has received $10.5 million in Series B financing from Battery Ventures to help fund growth across the entire company. The company serves digital marketers, enabling them to more easily deploy and manage their tag-based services. Tealium is Battery Ventures’ most recent addition to its digital marketing technology portfolio, which includes Bazaarvoice, ExactTarget, Groupon, Marketo, Mass Relevance, Neolane, Adobe Systems, Sprinklr and others.

USD Schedules Nonprofit Symposum

Jan Masaoka, executive director of CalNonprofits, willl be featured at the University of San Diego’s Nonprofit Human Resources and Advocacy Symposium Sept. 14 on campus. Masaoka is the author of the “Nonprofit’s Guide to Human Resources: Managing Employees and Volunteers.” The symposium is to be held in Mother Rosalie Hill Hall from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. One of the sessions will cover the impact of the November general election on nonprofit organizations. The event is sponsored by USD’s Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research. For more information, call (619) 260-2642. Fees range from $35 to $85.