Hoping to set a trend, three Sandy business owners have begun to discuss how to market their businesses.

And they’re calling it a small business think tank.

They’re hoping that what worked for one business will help another business, and they hope that by sharing what didn’t go well will help another business avoid pitfalls.

They want to get together with other business owners and share ideas and discuss what’s happening around town and how it affects their businesses.

The 60-minute meetings begin at 7:30 a.m. on the second and fourth Fridays of each month at Mt. Hood Nutrition, 38961 Pioneer Blvd., next to the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I wanted to have a Friday morning meeting and just chat about what’s happening around town and share ideas,” said Connie Knittel, a broker with Pacific Pioneer Real Estate in Sandy. “This is for anyone who shows up — no cost, no commitment. It’s a casual gathering about what we’ve learned.”

Besides gaining new ideas that could benefit some small businesses, another benefit of this group is the one-on-one support.

“We already have the chamber,” said Linda Bouchard, co-owner of Mt. Hood Nutrition. “But the chamber is all about marketing. (The think tank) is about increasing business by sharing ideas on what has worked and what hasn’t worked.”

“A lot of us aren’t in direct competition with one another,” said Richard Bouchard, co-owner of Mt. Hood Nutrition, “so we can hand off ideas and not feel threatened.”

The ideas shared sometimes spread to local activities and how to take advantage of them to promote or increase traffic inside specific businesses.

Linda Bouchard said the bimonthly hour is not a social time, although friendships may develop or may already exist. Instead, she wants the discussion to become specific and develop into an expression of opinions based on experiences.

The think tank’s plan, its founders agree, is helping others learn by discussing the results of what some have already done.

Knittel refers to it as “lessons learned.”

It appears at the outset that the trio of entrepreneurs wants to establish a system of mentoring businesses that need help.

“At the same time,” Linda Bouchard said, “(the mentors) pick up ideas and learn from other people.

“This is a think tank because we’re working to create new ideas by changing ideas that didn’t work well.”

The thinkers also can benefit one another by discussing a similar issue that is affecting more than one business, and at least learn they are not alone.

“This is an idea place,” Knittel said. “For example, I have a lot of knowledge about databases and how to find people and use the library. I just think some people should learn how to think out of the box for ideas.”

Both Bouchards said they are not trying to compete with or replace the chamber; they’re just going at business promotion in a different way.

“The chamber is a vital part of our community in marketing,” Linda said. “But this think tank is where we roll up our sleeves and share with each other the good, the bad and the ugly.”

“This is not sponsored by the chamber,” Richard said, “and it’s not limited to chamber members. This is just a couple of businesses that had this (think tank) idea.”

The Bouchards, who moved from home-based to a storefront, said the think tank would be a good place for home-based business owners to gather and learn ways of promoting their products and how to avoid difficulties.

For more information on the think tank, visit the group during its regular meetings or call 503-826-1631 or 503-407-8020.