HAMLET — Hosting a banquet, client meeting, fundraiser, customer appreciation day or tradeshow is hard work, but if done correctly, event planning experts say it can yield great results for your company.

To assist small businesses and nonprofits who could benefit from similar events, the Small Business Center of Richmond Community College is sponsoring a free seminar from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday to cover the basics of event planning.

C. Renae Simon will be the featured speaker at the workshop, which will be held at the Cole Auditorium. The seminar will cover how to determine and set realistic event goals, event planning techniques, logistical thinking exercises, how to plan to be under budget, vendor relations and negotiations and how details add value to events. Sponsorship and fundraising techniques will also be briefly discussed.

Simon has more than 12 years of experience in business consulting, marketing and advertising, facilities management, special events management and sales. She is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro, a graduate of the Rural Entrepreneurship Action Learning Institute and is a licensed facilitator of the course.

Her passion for training aspiring and established entrepreneurs in how to conduct the “business of their business” inspired her to establish her own company; Step-by-Step Businessolutions in Greensboro. She speaks on marketing and small business-related topics at small business centers, colleges and churches throughout the state. More information and a complete listing of seminars can be found on her website at www.stepbystep-businessolutions.com.

Registration for the seminar may be completed online at tiny.cc/sbcseminars or via email or phone by contacting Small Business Center Director Deborah Hardison at [email protected] or 910-410-1687. Advance registration is preferred, but walk-ins are welcome.

For the Daily Journal