Bridging Communities: The OCIACC Story

Ever wondered what happens when business networking transcends transactional relationships and embraces cultural celebration? The Good Neighbor Podcast welcomes Shani Moslehi from the Orange County Iranian American Chamber of Commerce (OCIACC), revealing a chamber experience unlike any other in Orange County.

Shani shares how OCIACC operates with dual purpose—providing traditional chamber benefits while hosting spectacular cultural events that draw thousands. Their annual Norooz Festival brings 3,000-4,000 people together, while their International Summer Mixer unites diverse chambers for an unforgettable food-tasting experience. "You don't have to be Iranian to join us," Shani explains. "You just have to be a good networker or willing to learn how to network."

The story behind OCIACC's founding is equally compelling. Born from Shani's volunteer work helping domestic violence survivors and encountering frustrated new immigrants seeking mentorship, she recognized a profound community need. Ten years later, OCIACC stands as a testament to authentic connection, having built remarkable community trust through consistent delivery of value.

Shani dispels common misconceptions about chamber membership, emphasizing that paying dues alone doesn't generate business—active participation does. Members must show up, learn to craft effective pitches, and develop genuine relationships. This refreshing honesty reflects OCIACC's commitment to substantive value rather than empty promises.

Whether you're seeking business connections with cultural dimension or simply want to expand your network in meaningful ways, OCIACC welcomes you. Explore their offerings at OCIACC.com, subscribe to their biweekly newsletter, or find them on social media @OCIACC to discover how this unique chamber is transforming business networking in Orange County.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, rachel Fyfe.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast.
Are you looking to join aChamber of Commerce?
Well, that resource could becloser than you think.

(00:22):
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
shani Moslehi, with the OrangeCounty Iranian American Chamber
of Commerce, better known asOSAC.
Did I pronounce that right?
Osiac, osiac, great, yes.
Well, here, hi, shani, how isit going?

Speaker 2 (00:45):
We're doing very well .
Thank you very much and thankyou for hosting us today.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Well, I'm excited to have you on the show and let our
listeners learn about yourbusiness.
So tell us about your companyhere.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Sure, before we start , I just want you to know that
I'm going live on Instagram soour followers can hear you.
Wonderful, unfortunately theycan't see you, but I'm talking
to Rachel with the Good Neighborpodcast and you can follow her
online.
So glad to be here, thank you.
You know, the Orange CountyIranian American Chamber of

(01:19):
Commerce, or OCEAC, is part ofthe 7,000 Chambers of Commerce
in the United States.
We do exactly what the otherchambers do.
We do networking events, wehave workshops and seminars,
gear tours, businesses so theycan improve the quality of work
they're doing.
But what makes us different isthat we also do cultural and

(01:40):
community events.
As Iranian Americans, ourbiggest celebration is in March
and we host the Noroos Festivalat the Renaissance in Newport
Beach, and that usually brings3,000 to 4,000 people to our
event, and the majority of thebusinesses that join us are not
just joining us because we are achamber, but because we also do

(02:00):
this.
You know extra events thatbring people together.
This last August, we hosted theInternational Summer Mixer that
brought in all these differentcultural chambers and local
chambers together.
Each chamber was responsible tobring a restaurant, so we had a
ton of food tasting going on,and it is one of our very
popular, very successful events.

(02:21):
So, no, you don't have to beIranian to join us.
You just have to be a goodnetworker or willing to learn
how to network, and that's whatwe do.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Wonderful.
How did you get into thisbusiness?

Speaker 2 (02:34):
It was very interesting.
I was always a very activevolunteer.
I volunteered at differentchambers of commerce as a
business owner, and I alsovolunteered at my children's
high school and my son wasgraduating.
It was the last year of the eraof being a PTA, ptsa foundation
, and it was.
You know, people are usuallysuffering from being an empty

(02:56):
nester and I was like, oh, whatam I going to do with all this
extra time now?
But I was also volunteeringwith a grassroots group of
Iranian women helping otherIranian women in domestic
violence situations.
Shelters were housing thesewomen who had been rescued and
then placing them intolow-income housing.

(03:16):
But these women had nothing.
They had escaped the situationand had no furniture.
Nothing and had no furniture,no, nothing.
So what we would do as a groupis find furniture, you know,
kitchen stuff, whatever theyneeded, and provide it to them.
One particular situation stoodout because this woman, you know
, when I talked to her, she justhad half a section of sofa and

(03:38):
a large TV, with two sick boysat home, so I knew that she
needed so much.
So instead of just, you know,using my regular resources, I
started emailing everybodyasking for donations and the
result was, of course, verypositive and we were able to
help this woman.
For weeks my 17-year-old and Iwent to the U-Haul and went door

(04:01):
to door, picked up everything,delivered everything to her, and
some people continued makingdonations even after we did the
delivery.
So back in school, when I was,you know, having a board meeting
, one of the moms who wasimpressed said you know what,
you should start your ownnonprofit.
And it's like boom a light, youknow, she just lit the fire in
me and I'm like, okay, that's,that's doable, I can do that.

(04:23):
And then I, you know, fastforward.
I meet this other young Iranianwoman who was sent to me from
SBDC to start a business, or shehad to start a business, she
just wanted someone to mentorher.
So in talking to her she was soangry at us as, as as a
community, she said you know, asa community, you have no
resources for new immigrants.

(04:44):
I would love to sit down withanother immigrant who's gone
through what I'm going throughand just use their wisdom.
And that's when my Chamber ofCommerce idea came along,
because I remembered being alonely business owner, I
remembered not having enoughsupport and I remember, when I
joined my local Chamber ofCommerce, how much I felt at

(05:06):
home, how wonderful it felt.
You know, there wereconnections, partnerships,
mentorships, everything wasavailable.
All I needed to do was to showup every month to these monthly
mixers and get to know people,and then, gradually, I would
like become the ambassador forthe chamber and even do more for
myself and for the businesses.
So the Chamber of Commerceseemed to be a perfect nonprofit

(05:30):
for us to do, and we areactually a 501c3 because not
only do we function as a chamber, but we also do all these
cultural and educational events.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
So we're very busy.
Yes, yes, you know.
What are some maybe myths ormisconceptions in your industry,
do you think?

Speaker 2 (05:49):
in your industry, do you think?
Unfortunately, people thinkthat we are a marketing
institute and by making a memberbecause we are a membership
organization.
So they think by paying theirmembership dues.
It's just like paying amembership dues and going to the
gym and expecting to loseweight.
They are not going to gaincustomers or increase their
client base by just paying intoa membership.

(06:10):
They have to show up.
We are encouraging networking,we are teaching them how to come
up with a 30-second pitch.
We're telling them how to donetworking, how to do the
follow-up, how to express thevalue of their business.
And without coming to ourevents they're not going to be
able to gain that.
And that's the misconceptionthey think you know I'm a member
, why aren't you sending mecustomers?
I mean we do, because peoplecall and ask to be referred to a

(06:35):
dentist or a banker and wealways refer them back to our
membership directory.
But that's not what we do.
We're here as a professionalnetworking organization.

Speaker 1 (06:44):
Okay, gosh.
Well we know marketing is theheart of every business.
So how are you targeting yourcustomers or how do you attract
new members?

Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, our events attract people by itself.
So now that we've been aroundfor 10 years and we have gained
the trust of the community, theyjust come, fortunately.
But we do have a team of six orseven of us and our board
members and our advisory boardmembers, and so we always talk
about events that are coming up.
We do a lot of live videos onour social media to make sure

(07:15):
people are informed aboutupcoming events.
We have an e-newsletter that wehave consistently sent out
every two weeks and have a greatbase for it.
So we do our work.
We do very aggressive marketingto make sure people hear about
us.
We're here today.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
I know, I know right Now.
Have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast we?

Speaker 2 (07:36):
do have a podcast.
It's called Coffee with Osiak.
It's 20 minutes long and it's.
You know it's not easy toupload into all the social media
sites, but it is available onYouTube, so we've done a couple
episodes so far.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
Wonderful Well, outside of work, what?
What do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 2 (07:56):
Oh, my goodness.
So I risk.
I rescued two dogs.
My family has always owned twodogs and in 2020, during the
pandemic, we rescued aRottweiler mix.
She was a beautiful, calm,gentle dog and this year my
children are grown and not heredecided mommy needs another dog.
So we ended up rescuing anotherpuppy a super mutt as they call

(08:22):
her, and she's a handful,playful.
She's nine months old.
So I'm busy with the dogs.
They want my attention 24-7.
So we're very busy.
Our fun thing that we've justdiscovered is use the portable
pool outside, and that keepsthem busy.
They're exhausted and take anap, just like having babies.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
Yes, yes, it is, it is Shani.
Please tell our listeners onething they should remember about
OCEAC Hmm.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
So we were founded based on the need that our
community brought to us.
We were founded because theIranian community said, look, we
need a place to gather, we needa place that we can call for
help.
So that's what they need toremember that we are here
because of the need that wasavailable and out there and we

(09:14):
are here to help smallbusinesses.
So, you know, we've faithfullydone what we have promised to do
.
We've brought the communitytogether.
We've hosted events that, likeI said, our original no Roots
Festival was free, we wouldn'tcharge any entry and we would
have 8000 people show up.
So gradually, we said, ok,that's way too many people to

(09:34):
manage, even though the sheriffwould call me and say this was a
successful event.
We've had not one incidentreported.
So that was a testimonial thatour community really wanted us
to be doing this and they werereally behind us.
So we were very lucky that wewere able to establish that
trust we were.
You know, the return of valuefor becoming a member of OCEAC

(09:57):
is already out there, peoplealready talk about it and they
appreciate us.
So that's one thing that your,you know, your listeners should
know that we really deliver whatwe promise.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
Wonderful.
How can our listeners learnmore about OCEAC?

Speaker 2 (10:11):
So we have a nice website at wwwociacccom.
They can learn about membership, sponsorship and all of our
programs.
I encourage them to alsosubscribe to our e-newsletter
that goes out every two weeksand that way they get updated
information about the eventsthat are coming up, and we're
usually, you know, uploading twoor three events at a time so

(10:33):
they can see if this is not themonth that they can participate,
they can definitely save thedate for next month.
So no excuses.
We're also on every socialmedia platform with the handle
at OCIACC.
So we are here and you knowappreciate really this
opportunity to speak to youraudience in Orange County.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
Love it Well.
Shani, I really appreciate youbeing on the show and we wish
you and your business really thebest moving forward.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
Thank you so much, Rachel Thanks.

Speaker 1 (11:08):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go togoodneighborhoodpodcastcom.