The Rochester Business Alliance now has a small business assistance center, active since May 15.

The center will be open on alternate Thursdays, and will be staffed by counselors from the SUNY Brockport Small Business Development Center and SCORE Rochester. Clients will be seen by appointment, and services will be confidential and free of charge. Services will include consultation on business plans, financing, marketing and manufacturing.

"The new Rochester Business Alliance/College at Brockport Small Business Development Center partnership will broaden and enhance access to small business assistance services," said Jan Pisanczyn, SBDC Director. "This will make identifying and accessing small business support services easier. The small business community will find this one-stop assistance opportunity to be even more convenient than ever."

SBDC counselors will hold office hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 15, June 12, July 10, August 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13 and Dec. 4. To make an appointment, contact SBDC at (585) 395-2334. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact Teresa Washington at (585) 395-8410.

SBDC is a program supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration and extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. SBA cannot endorse any products, opinions or services of any external parties or activities.

SCORE counselors office hours are by appointment only - contact the SCORE office at (585) 263-6473. For more information, log on to www.SCORERochester.org.

"We expect this new arrangement to benefit the Rochester business community," says Anthony Carlisi, chairman for SCORE Rochester. "We look forward to a cross-pollination of ideas that will foster success for more of our community's small businesses."

SCORE is a nationwide non-profit association under the auspices of the U.S. Small Business Administration. It is composed of volunteers who share their management and technical expertise with owners/managers of small business and those who want to start their own small businesses. SCORE Rochester is the chapter that covers Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Wayne and Yates counties, and the eastern half of Genesee and Orleans counties. It has more than 50 members who counsel and present workshops throughout these counties.

The center is located in Rochester Business Alliance offices on the fourth floor of 150 State St. in downtown Rochester. Free parking is available in the lot surrounding the building.