Episode 62: Building a Land Brokerage from the Ground Up | Guests Koby Rickertsen, ALC and Brittany Hurdle Murphy
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Welcome to the REALTORS® Land Institute Podcast, the Voice of land, the industry's leading land real estate organization.
Justin Osborn: This is Justin Osborn, accredited land consultant with the Wells Group in Durango, Colorado. On today's episode of the Voices of Land podcast, we're talking to RLI member and accredited land consultant Koby Rickertsen with Ironhorse Land Company and his chief marketing officer, Brittany Hurdle Murphy. Together, they bring two very different perspectives. Koby as a longtime land professional deeply involved in RLI leadership, and Brittany as an award-winning former land agent who stepped back from production to build Ironhorse from the ground up with intention. Koby is the founder of Ironhorse Land Company and a seasoned land professional with experience building and successfully selling a residential brokerage prior to launching Ironhorse. This time, Koby set out to build a company fully dedicated to land with a long-term vision rooted in standards, structure, and most importantly, people. And no, this company won't be for sale. Welcome to the podcast, Koby.
Koby Rickertsen: Hey Justin, thanks so much for having me on here. Longtime listener, first time caller.
JO: There you go, man. Definitely looking forward to doing this with you and Brittany. And folks, Brittany Hurdle Murphy is the chief marketing officer of Ironhorse Land Company. She is a former nationally recognized land agent, recipient of the RLI Rising Star Award, and former chapter administrator of the year with a background in marketing and a degree in communications. When Koby began laying the foundation for Ironhorse, he reached out to Brittany to help bring the vision to life. Welcome to the podcast, Brittany.
Brittany Hurdle Murphy: Thank you so much for having us, Justin. We're excited to be here.
JO: Yeah, I'm looking forward to doing this. I've seen a lot of real estate companies start up in my 24-year career and some of them are still in business and some of them aren't. And so just looking forward to hearing your thoughts behind starting your own land company and intentions for the future.
BHM: Absolutely.
JO: Well, Koby, let's start with you. When you decided to start Ironhorse Land Company, was there a problem you were actually trying to solve or was it just you wanted to get out on your own? Tell me a little bit about how you decided to start your own company.
KR: I think it was kind of an interesting journey for me. I had the opportunity to sell a multi-location real estate company that I had built up from the ground up and kind of went to work for another couple companies in the last few years. And as I was doing that, I just kind of thought, there's kind of a... It seems to me like there's kind of a misalignment between leadership, agents, and clients. And a lot of times we're chasing a reputation and not really trying to focus on what the clients are wanting. And so just, nothing against the guys that I worked with, they were great people. I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of great agents and kind of see how they worked. But in the long run, it wasn't... I had a different vision. And so that's what Ironhorse is, is that different vision from what the industry had to offer.
JO: Okay. And Brittany, as the chief marketing officer of Ironhorse, are you coming in and doing, obviously, I would imagine, social media and getting the name out there in front of both the public and the brokers? But what's kind of your primary goal?
BHM: Our primary goal is really clearly defining that iron standard, Justin, and making sure that our future clients and our future agents know what that is and know the commitment that we're making to them and that we're not just chasing ego. We're not playing the volume game. We've been extremely intentional and that's what drove me to say yes to Koby when he called. He presented... He had a great presentation for me and I even said to him at one point, "What do you need me for?" because he had already put so much of it together and it's really made my job so easy. So yeah, of course we're on social media, but Koby and I are also kind of splitting the back-end details of COO for the time being. So really making sure those systems and processes are in place so that as we bring on these new agents, they know that they're supported and they can build a long-term legacy career with us.
JO: I love what you said, the iron standard. I mean, obviously play on words there with the name. But where I'm at in Durango, Colorado, we've got the Iron Horse, which is our narrow-gauge railroad that runs from Durango to Silverton. And so any similarity there with the Ironhorse Land Company and the Ironhorse that we have here in Durango or completely two unrelated topics?
BHM: No, spot on. I'm gonna kick this one back to Koby.
KR: Yeah, that actually is kind of where we came up with when we were talking about Ironhorse is we wanted to go like what built the country, what built our part of the country in the Midwest? And when we really started looking into it, it was that rail service that brought people out here that really did start to settle, and that's where the Midwest really started to form was when we had that easy opportunity for people to come out and stake their claim here. So that is the Ironhorse is kind of if you look at our branding and stuff like that, you'll see the old steam engines included in that, and so it's been really fun to work with that in the branding.
JO: Oh, I love it, man. Well, maybe you guys need to do a visit out here and we'll ride the Ironhorse and definitely can come up with something creative, I'm sure, with Brittany's marketing background.
BHM: Absolutely. I'm here for it. I begged Jake to bring me out there forever to ride the train, and he never did, so yes.
JO: Well, tell me kind of how... You're licensed in quite a few states, right, Koby?
KR: Yeah, 12.
JO: Yeah. Wow, man, that's a lot of CE to keep up with. So in addition to the 12 states, how many brokers are you planning on kind of modeling to have under you?
KR: So our goal is to have a broker in at least two states, every two states, but hopefully just one state will have a broker eventually. Right now we have a Kansas broker, and then I am brokering the other ones. We're trying to encourage Ms. Brittany to help us out in Tennessee. Hopefully, we'll get her back in the real estate game someday soon. But yeah, well, and then we have one that's to be named later that will be joining us from another state, but we really ideally want to have that one state is managed by one broker.
JO: Gotcha. Okay. And then what would you say the biggest hurdles are? Like other folks that are thinking, "Okay, I want to go start my own brokerage," from an operator standpoint, what would they be underestimating?
KR: So many things. It's, I guess I'll let Brittany take this one. She's been really... I mean, we call her the Chief Marketing Officer, but she really is filling that Operations Officer role. She does way more than just marketing. So Brittany, go ahead and tell them what you think.
BHM: It's certainly the time. Koby and I both are very driven. We like things done nice and neat, but we want it done yesterday. So with our backgrounds having been at multiple different land brokerages and kind of having a bird's-eye view of everything, we've really wanted to make sure we're intentional. So as much as we would like to just be screaming from the rooftops, "Hey, look at us," we don't want to do that until we feel comfortable knowing this is who we are, this is what you're getting from us, and this is how we can help you. And that's clients, that's agents, and just being a part of the land industry in general. So it's definitely the time. We put time goals on everything. We've got SMART goals, and sometimes we have to take a step back and say, "Well, that didn't quite happen when we wanted it to," but that's okay. If it adds a week longer time but we can put the iron standard on this and know that it's something we can stand beside, then that's just part of it. We're not in a rush. We're not going to do good enough. Good enough is not good enough for us. So we're also not doing perfectionism. So it's finding that balance.
JO: I like that. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a balance. You know, you strive for perfection, then you're gonna fall short every time. And so definitely good to be the best that you can, but realize that everybody's human.
BHM: Exactly.
JO: So the real estate market across the country, it's taken a shift most areas. There's certainly some areas where median price is going up, but I think it's safe to say 90% of the United States has seen a little correction. And I think if I remember correctly, I heard a stat that over 20% of the realtors with NAR did not renew their license this January compared to last year. And so I'm hearing this saying, "Man, there's a lot of people getting out of business," and y'all are saying, "No, we're gonna go start our own business." Has anything that happened the past couple years influenced your decision in doing this?
KR: I would say that, I mean, you've been in the business long enough to understand that there is a misunderstanding when a lot of people get into this business of what it is. And so I think that there's a lot of those... A lot of us that take this as this is our career, this is all we do, that understand that it's a lot of work. And so that's kind of our idea, I guess, is to find those like-minded people and then kind of give them a platform and a tool with some sexy branding and some really quality systems and then let them just flourish under that. And so I think that by, like we've literally turned down more applicants than we've hired by a long shot. And so it's not that we need to have a thousand agents, it's that we need to have a group of really good agents, I guess. I hope that answers your question. But I think a lot of those guys that are getting out of the industry, especially in the residential world, I don't think they really understood what they were getting into and how much work is involved. I think they thought, "Oh, I can get this and have a part-time gig after I get done with teaching school" or whatever that job that they do full-time is. And then they realize that the dues and subscriptions and things like that are very expensive and it just doesn't line up for them.
BHM: Yeah, I'd like to echo that. We've been building our new website and it is live and we're very excited about that. And in doing so, we've all been chipping in and writing some blogs. And one of the blog posts I wrote was, "We don't need more land agents, we need better ones." So honestly, it makes... I wish nothing but the best for those people. I hope that they find their passion and their lane. But I think that's a great thing for us across the land industry. We needed to cut some of the fat off.
JO: Well, I think that's well said and I 100% agree with you. I mean, we've done the same thing, Koby, here at the Wells Group where we'll have people come interview and, like you, we require full-time broker. You've gotta be full-time. You can be part-time starting out, but you have to have the vision to be a full-time real estate agent. And the people that aren't interested in that, we politely tell them it's not gonna be a good fit and then we see them a few weeks later hang their license at another office down the road. And so I love what you're saying about the full-time mentality now. And the market shift, I think, has helped a lot of us that are full-time agents. When interest rates were 4% and COVID was happening with fake money, the part-time realtor could list a property and say, "Oh, we got five offers. Look what I did." No, you didn't do that. Low interest rates, too much money in the economy, and high demand did that. Now that the market's shifted, the sellers are starting to realize, "Maybe my sister's brother's cousin's nephew isn't the best person to list my farm. I need somebody that knows how to market. I need somebody with connections all across the country. I need that full-time realtor." And that's where folks like you and me fit in.
KR: Yeah, I think you're absolutely spot on there. And again, it's every industry, I believe. Hard times make the great people. So it's like, yeah, it's uncomfortable when we're going through some of this. We watch cooling all across the industry and people kind of just taking a break. And the stock market, every time it goes crazy, my belief is land kind of cools off anyway. But I absolutely can't agree more with you in the sense of I think we're gonna find those great people. And I think that now, like Brittany said, now's the time to do it when it's hard because you're gonna live forever if you can make it through now.
JO: So what advice would you give to some of the younger agents out there that say, "All right, in so many years, I wanna be in the position of Koby and Brittany and owning my own company"?
KR: Go ahead, Brittany.
BHM: I would say, this is actually my number one advice because I have a lot of people come to me wanting to get into the industry, and I always tell them, don't just jump at the first person waving a shiny flag in your face. Go and sit down and interview these companies. Like yes, you're being interviewed, but you need to be interviewing them as well and figuring out where you most align and who can offer you those processes and standards that you can run with. Because when you're just kind of getting it figured out, if you have that groundwork already laid for you and you don't have to reinvent the wheel, that's gonna help you tenfold. So it's easy for somebody to say, "Oh yeah, we're gonna do this, that, and the other," but if they don't have something they can show you and really explain it, then it's probably only gonna last so long. And that's when you start seeing those agents flip quite a few times before they finally land somewhere that feels like home.
KR: Yeah, I think I agree with that. And I also think that I've talked to a lot of different great companies when I was kind of doing my transitioning and looking around, and you can kind of tell when you're talking to them. Like, I had one land company that made me take an assessment on for whether or not I was gonna fit with their culture. Like, I had to do that before I could even think about interviewing. So they had... It was kind of incredible. And so those are the kind of companies that you really want to go, "Okay, maybe I can be a part of that," whereas there's a lot of folks out there that just want to rack up numbers on their website so that they can say they're huge. And realistically, most of those guys, if you go dig into it, aren't really selling a whole lot. So I think that what we're doing is gonna be a little different in the sense of we want to take all that good stuff that we've kind of seen between where we've spent time with and the people like you that we spent time just talking to around a fire somewhere and taking all that knowledge and kind of try and turn it into one company that can do some good in the industry.
JO: I thought we promised not to ever talk about that fire conversation.
KR: I didn't say anything more than just it's out there, Justin. So depending on how this goes, we could reference it more.
JO: Well, I love hearing about the culture, almost like a personality profile thing it sounds like that they had you fill out. And there's so many of those tools available nowadays. And all of us learn different ways, all of us have our gifts and weaknesses. And so I think it's great that you kind of hit on that because that's one thing that we personally don't do here at The Wells Group, but we're very active in doing that in other organizations that I'm part of that I think would be great to kind of fit in and say, "Alright, maybe this person is gonna be better maybe behind the scenes doing more admin on a team, or maybe they need to be out in front meeting and greeting buyers and sellers with the type of personality that they have."
BHM: I'll have to brag on Koby. He has a sixth sense for that. So he went ahead and built our executive team and we've hired on one agent. And we're kind of again in one of those phases where we were catching back up and I was starting to feel out everybody's different personalities and I was like, "Hey guys, I'd really love for you to take this assessment. Short and sweet, nothing crazy." And it was so spot on for the roles that Koby had filled of these people. And then we kind of get to giggle in the background of, "Oh, what do you think they're gonna say? You think they're gonna pick that? Yeah, they're gonna pick that one," based on their personality profiles. And it's made it really fun. But it's... Koby's psychology background is hit spot on. It's gonna be what sets this company apart for sure.
JO: Man, I love hearing that. That's awesome. That's good that you have that gift, Koby, of being able to figure that out with those folks.
BHM: And he has no idea he's doing it half the time.
KR: I always tell people I got a degree in psychology and I've never used it for good, only for evil. But it's kind of worked out for us. But no, and again, one of the things that we were really intentional on in the very beginning was we want this to be a group of agents, not just one person deciding what goes on. And so we do have a leadership team. We have several more spots that we think we can add to that if we can find the right people, but that's what guides our ship. And so that really has been, like I... We laugh because we have some very conservative folks. I want everything to be now and I want to spend just a ton of money to get it there, and then on the other side, we have those guys on our team that are super conservative that keep me grounded. And so it's been really kind of fun. Frustrating at times, I suppose, but my wife would say it's been really fun for her to see me be grounded.
JO: Well, be careful. Don't give Tammy any ideas, man. She might like to see the same thing for me.
KR: Team of people.
JO: Well, I think it's great that you guys are doing what you're doing with this new company. Do you have a motto or a slogan that you guys are gonna be standing behind?
BHM: Absolutely. The Iron Standard. It truly is. It truly guides everything that we do. And we finally finalized our sold template yesterday and it's in that. You'll see it across a lot of our marketing. And then as you get to dive into our presentations and stuff, we're always gonna be talking about the Iron Standard and how that applies. It's not just a good slogan that sounds good, right? We want... In our listing presentation packet, we clearly define what that looks like for the seller and let them know, "If this sounds like something you align most with, then we're the right company for you." We want people to know just what they're getting. No surprises, no lack of communication. We want them to know that they are first and foremost for us and we truly have a plan. We're not just gonna stick a sign in the ground or throw a social media post up and call it a day.
JO: I love that. Yeah, that's great communication. Well, folks, if you'd like to gain more expertise and connections in land real estate, consider taking a LANDU course, attend a webinar or virtual roundtable, or come to an in-person RLI event like the National Land Conference or a chapter event. Registration for courses and events can be found at rliland.com. Well, Koby and Brittany, as we're wrapping up here, any last nuggets you'd like to throw out to our listeners on starting your own land company?
KR: Ladies first.
BHM: Okay. I would just say make sure that you've done a little bit of your homework. It's really easy to go sign up an LLC and grab a website domain, but if you are truly trying to build that legacy, take some time and figure out just exactly what you are wanting to build. And maybe it's a not right now thing, maybe it's a down the road thing. Not everything has to be now, now, now. I know that's the culture that we live in these days. In an AI-driven world, it's easy just to snap your fingers and think, "Oh, I can have even AI build my whole company," but you don't want to misrepresent yourself. You don't want to do yourself a disservice, do your clients a disservice. So I think it's beautiful and it's fun, but just know, yeah, buckle up and be ready to put in the elbow grease. The real work is still being done in the real world.
KR: Yeah, just to follow up with that, I would say the intentionality of it. If you're doing it for just the sake of owning your own company, be real careful what you're getting into because this is a ton of work and it's a lot of money. And so we have a lot of belief in ourselves and we have a group of people that pray constantly. And so I would say that too, that be prayerful about it. Like, it really needs to have... I think owning your own company really need to have that purpose and not just to do it because you don't want a boss, because you end up with everybody's your boss when you own the company. You work for everybody involved. So I guess that's what I would say. Just take a lot of time to pray about it and do a lot of research.
JO: Well, that's good wisdom, definitely. And if our listeners would like to get in touch with the two of you, what's the best way for them to do that?
BHM: Just go to www.ironhorselandcompany.com. Everything you could want is on there. You can find us on social media, Ironhorse Land Company, and of course we do have our own podcast, The American Land Seller, that we are getting ready to gear back up and start a new season of that. So you can find us there if you want some more tidbits of information. And then of course, you can find Koby at National Land Conference next month. I'll be hunkered down with the toddler.
KR: We're trying to convince her to go, guys. So we'd really love to see her and Jake come back to the conference and see all their old friends. So fingers crossed, maybe. You don't know.
JO: Yeah, I mean, you know, you could just leave the toddler with Grandpa Jeff. I mean, some folks might rather see you than the president.
BHM: Just stick her up on stage with him.
JO: Well, for more expertise on land real estate topics, be sure to check out the RLI blog, follow us on social media, and of course, tune in for upcoming episodes of the Voices of Land podcast.
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