Small business owners in Odenton, Severn and Gambrills have formed a new group to help share ideas, get advice and give back to the community.

TradeNet meets twice monthly at the Gambrills General Store, and features several of the most recognizable small businesses in the area. Its next meeting is Tuesday at 7:45 a.m.

"There are no chains or franchises ... these are truly local, small business owners," said Greg Mazzella, owner of Mazzella Investigative Solutions, and one of the group's founders. "Because the area is growing, we want to have a voice in everything that’s going on.”

Meetings are informal, and there is no elected leadership, Mazzella said. Recent topics of conversation have included the impact of new apartment developments in town, the use of newsletters for publicity, and vacancies at the Odenton Shopping Center. The group also discussed collecting school supplies to donate to needy students. 

There is a modest annual fee to join, plus a small fee to cover expenses at each meeting.

Anyone may join, but the group is geared toward small, independent businesses. Mazzella said they'd like to limit membership to one of each kind of business.

Current members include the Gambrills General Store, Little House of Flowers, Bear's Honeypot and Walt Eger's Service Center, among others.

TradeNet will differ from other business groups, such as Business Networking International, because there is no networking and no requirement to provide business leads.

"It’s not a networking group," Mazzella said. "It’s just to get together and exchange ideas and talk about local issues.”

See also:

• Small business coverage on Odenton-Severn Patch.