The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation will a host series of five seminars next month designed to help Rhode Island’s small businesses survive and thrive in tough economic times. The workshops will be held at the RIEDC’s Providence offices at 555 Valley St., Providence, and are free to the public.

Each workshop begins at 9 a.m. They are:

“Nurture Marketing” with David Nash on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Nash will detail the process of turning strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into an effective sales force.

“Charting a Winning Course for Your Business: Developing a Strategic Plan that Works,” with Karen Profitt on Thursday, Dec. 4. In this workshop, Profitt, president of Pinnacle Performance, will help small businesses create a strategic plan for greater sustained results.

“Cash Flow Management,” with Jeffrey Deckman, president of Capability Accelerators. Deckman will host a workshop focusing on dealing with and anticipating cash flow challenges on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

“Patent and Trademark Workshop” with lawyer Dan Holmander and Maureen Ewing, the director of the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division. Holmander and Ewing will introduce small businesses to patents and trademarks on Thursday, Dec. 11.

“Business Entity Formation” with lawyer Elizabeth Tanner will review legal options in forming small business on Wednesday, Dec. 17.