Q&A: Indian chamber president explains new group's vision for southwestern Ohio

The new Indian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is neither an ethnic organization nor a social group, President Rayan Coutinho says. Rather, it's an organization "to create a forum and resource pool for Indian and American businesses and professionals who already do or are looking to do business with each other or in the other's country, or have an interest in Indian culture in general." Coutinho, an attorney at Wood & Lamping in Cincinnati, spoke with hiVelocity about the fledgling group, which says it wants "to bring increased visibility to the tremendous contributions that people of Indian origin continually make to the United States in the medical, technology, business, industrial, hospitality and other fields."

What resources are you making available to new entrepreneurs?

If you are a new entrepreneur, we strongly encourage you to become a member of the IACC. The IACC will host monthly meetings. At these meetings, you will have access to some of the best and the brightest people in business during the networking sessions. Relationships developed during the networking sessions will enable you to find a mentor who will be able to guide you based on personal experience. The IACC membership draws from a diversity of professions, including business owners, architects, physicians, entrepreneurs, CPAs, attorneys, venture capitalists, insurance agents, real estate agents and others. Therefore, you will have access to personalized service for all your business needs from people you know rather than from someone in the phone book. The IACC will also host keynote speakers who will discuss a myriad of issues relevant to start-ups, emerging growth and established businesses, including topics related to financing your business, law, bidding on government contracts, immigration, estate planning, real estate, and insurance. Knowledge of these areas will help you better navigate through the generally tough start-up period.

What seems to be the fastest group segment of Indian-American owned businesses?

As your readers are probably aware, Americans of Indian origin are very well represented in the hospitality, medical, information technology, education, manufacturing, construction and food service industries. The IACC believes that the major areas of future growth for our community will continue to be in those areas. We have also seen a significant number of people using their experience in those industries and transitioning into a consultant, rather than an employee, role.

How can you see that changing?

Traditionally, Americans of Indian origin have tended to lean toward professions and businesses involving medicine, science and technology. We are seeing more and more second- and third- generation Americans of Indian origin seeking elected offices as candidates in both parties. A couple of great examples are Jay Goyal, an Ohio state representative from Richland County, and Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana. We believe this is a wonderful development. It is time for us to be recognized as part of mainstream America.

How are you collaborating with other business segments?

We have received tremendous support from the business community and other business chambers in the area. We hope to create a working relationship with the major corporations and organizations in order to create business opportunities for our small businesses and professionals. For example, the IACC is a marketing partner with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for the 20th Kentucky International Trade and Investment Conference on May 6. The IACC will be a presenter during the panel discussion on market opportunities in India. Similarly, the IACC is collaborating with the Asian Community Alliance for the first Ohio Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Day at the Columbus Statehouse. Representatives of The Cincinnati USA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the African American Chamber of Commerce provided informal guidance to us during our formative stage. We look forward to working with them as well as with the Cincinnati USA Chamber of Commerce.

What are some of the misconceptions about immigrant or ethnic businesses that you would like to dispel?

One misconception is that all Indians are doctors and software engineers or that all of us own gas stations and convenience stores. The fact that is perhaps not well known is that people of Indian origin in the United States have the highest median income, education, and percentage of home ownership of any group, including Caucasians.

What would you like the landscape to look like five or ten years from now?

The IACC would love to see the continued growth of business and cultural ties between the United States and India.

Is there anything on the legislative horizon in Columbus or Washington that small-business owners should be alert to?

The IACC hopes that both the Congress and the Ohio General Assembly will create a business friendly environment by making regulations simpler and taxes lower for small businesses. We would also like to see increased emphasis of science and technology education.

Final toughts?

The IACC is an infant organization. We cannot succeed without the support and guidance of our members and the business community in Cincinnati. We strongly encourage you to contact one of our Board members and learn how you can help us play a small role in making Cincinnati and the tri-state area a prosperous community.

Note: Besides Coutinho, founding board members of the IACC are Krutarth Jain, project manager/planner at Champlin Architecture and president of the Hindu Society of Greater Cincinnati; Satish Gangam, CPA at Business Management Services; Sharline Martin, charitable organizer;  Lindsay Wilhelm, owner of D.A.G. Construction; Nandagopal Jayaram, president of Costrategix, and Dr. Surmeet Bedi.