Topics : BUSINESS : Free Management Advice for Entrepreneurs

Small business operators in the Pasadena area will soon be able to get free management advice when a government-sponsored consulting service opens a three-person Pasadena office in August.

The Eastern Los Angeles County Small Business Development Center, which has operated for four years in Pomona, is expanding to Pasadena, East Los Angeles and South-Central Los Angeles, said center Director Toni Valdez.

Although the Los Angeles office sites have yet to be chosen, Pasadena employees will work out of 2061 N. Los Robles Ave. About $50,000 of the $200,000 yearly operating costs for the office will come from Los Angles County. The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, Pasadena City College and the city of Pasadena are also helping to establish the new office, Valdez said.

The Pomona center, at 375 S. Main St., provides about 2,500 small businesses per year with the services of free, professional management consultants. They give financial, operating, marketing and other advice for businesses with fewer than 500 employees, Valdez said.

The Pomona center is operated by Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, in cooperation with Citrus Community College in Glendora.

Yearly funding of about $300,000 comes from the federal Small Business Administration, the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges, and the California Trade and Commerce Agency.