After spending decades investing time and money without a justifiable return, I wanted to create a business development organization consisting of friends who did not compete in business. A group of people who would gladly share their trusted relationships to “open doors” to new business opportunities utilizing their individual services or products to the commercial real estate industry. A mutually trusted relationship is always the most valuable reason for success. This was the foundation of IREON, and it remains so to this day.
From its inception, IREON has been a safe “inner circle” of caring members who want to help each other grow their business. Real estate related companies are the bedrock of development and job creation in NYC and our members reflect and influence the viewpoint of what the commercial real estate community is thinking.
What are some of the key benefits that IREON provides to its members, especially in terms of networking and business development?
IREON hosts bi-weekly Zoom meetings, allowing its members to announce awards and achievements, extend gratitude for business referrals and give “elevator speeches”. Members participate in time-efficient one-on-one meetings where IREON management helps facilitate the best selection of members and follow-up to ensure mutual financial reward. These meetings open doors to new business opportunities that otherwise would not be possible, and this hands-on effort of our management team differentiates IREON from all other networking groups and other executive business development organizations.
What distinguishes IREON from other real estate organizations or associations in the industry?
IREON is “relationship-driven”. Its members are trusted friends and colleagues who care about each other and want them to succeed. They provide support, guidance, and encouragement, sharing knowledge and guidance in their fields of expertise. IREON is a non-compete group, and our commitment ensures that each member holds the exclusive category for their product or service. The IREON management team works closely and proactively to respond to member needs and requests.
One of our members said it best, “IREON’s non-compete format puts you face to face, one-to-one, with the “biggest names” in the industry, and the door is wide open to developing powerful relationships.”
What qualities do you look for in new members?
We look for ‘givers’ who want to help others expand their business opportunities and receive the same in return. We want people with the highest caliber character and are principals in firms of the highest caliber in their service or product. We want members who want to build their business and relationships and help build the IREON organization.
Our members most often come from the recommendations of existing members. The firms are based in the New York metro region, although several have national and multi-national divisions.
What is the process for becoming an IREON member?
Once the member has committed to their membership, we say it’s a ‘quick and painless’ process with little involvement from the member. The IREON team will gather information, send out a welcome announcement to all members, and post on social media and in the NYREJ. We will review the membership roster with the members and recommend their one-to-one meetings, set them up in our private What’s App group chat, and give them member-only access to member contacts, previous member presentations, and recordings. The new member is then personally introduced on the next bi-weekly member Zoom meeting.
Could you share a success story where IREON played a significant role in fostering collaboration among its members?
IREON brought together two prominent members in their respective fields, Spector Companies and Lipsky Construction. They met through the organization and have worked on several, incredibly successful projects together. As they have put it, they are “building an empire”.
How does IREON leverage technology and digital platforms to enhance its members’ experience and engagement?
In 2024, IREON has made great strides with our online presence on social media platforms and our website. Under the guidance of IREON member ONE18MEDIA, AJ Sonnick and his team have helped bring IREON to the forefront of social media marketing and engagement. Besides social media, technology plays a large part in our organization. Zoom has proven to be a great resource for us and our members to connect. We use Zoom for our biweekly meetings as well as our carefully curated one-on-one meetings between members to further their relationships and open up new doors for each other.
We are looking forward to continuing to grow our social media presence in 2025, as well as a complete redesign of our website to create a more engaging and visually stimulating experience for our members and the public. IREON can be followed on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
What are your long-term goals for IREON?
My long-term goal for IREON is to double the group in size while maintaining the integrity, culture, and unique structure of the organization.
We primarily want to continuously expand the organization because with every member, there comes a plethora of new trusted relationships that can be leveraged onto all the members, producing more business opportunities that otherwise would not be made available.
The larger the organization, the more influential it is, because each member has a service, product and industry expertise that is unique to them.
Steve Kirschner is COO and founder of IREON, New York, NY.
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