#47 - Building a Land Career with Ashley Pittman

In Episode 47 of The American Land Seller Podcast, Koby Rickertsen welcomes Ashley Pittman of Ironhorse Land Company for a conversation about building a career in the land business and serving rural America.

Ashley discusses her path into real estate, the importance of trust and relationships, and what she has learned working with landowners, buyers, and rural communities. The discussion also explores the realities of today's land market, professional growth, and what it means to represent one of the most important assets many families will ever own.

If you're involved in agriculture, land ownership, hunting properties, recreational land, or rural real estate, you'll find practical insights and valuable perspective in this episode.

Learn more about The American Land Seller Podcast:
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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Ashley Pittman

SPEAKER_01 0:09

Today on the American Land Seller, we're headed to the heart of rural Nebraska to sit down with Ashley Pittman of Ironhorse Land Company. Ashley has built her career around rural residential real estate, helping buyers and sellers navigate acreage properties, country homes, and lifestyle that comes with living outside the city limits. But now she's stepping deeper into the land business. And we're going to talk about that journey today. We're going to get into what surprised her most about real estate, the transition from residential into land, building trust in small communities, and what it really takes to grow this business long term. Ashley brings a grounded perspective, strong work ethic, and a real understanding of rural living. Not just from selling it, but from living it herself. So whether you're a land broker, a rural residential agent, or somebody who just loves the business of land and lifestyle properties, I think you're gonna really enjoy this conversation.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Welcome to the American Land Seller Podcast with your hosts, Kobe Richardson and Britney Murphy. Kobe is an accredited land consultant and the CEO managing broker of Ironhorse Land Company, a multi-state land brokerage specializing in farm, ranch, recreational, and development items across the heartland. Brittany is the chief marketing officer of Ironhorse, bringing top-level marketing strategy, brand development, and creative execution built specifically for the land business. Each week, we bring you real-world insight and expert conversations on land sales, marketing, regulations, economics, and the trends shaping the land market across America.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Okay, Kobe and our special guests, let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Hey everybody, welcome back to the American Land Seller Podcast. We are this is gonna be fun. This is somebody that um I've known for several years, gotten to know her. She's an incredible force in the industry, and uh as luck would have it, just happened to have just joined the Iron Horse team. Ashley Pittman, how are you today?

SPEAKER_04 2:20

Wonderful. It's great to be here. Thank you for having me. Blessed and opportunity. Keep going. I have lots of words that I could use for joining the team.

From Office Admin To Licensed Agent

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Ashley, it's been kind of an interesting journey for you. Um let's say let you know, I think we could go back a little bit because I think that everybody has their own origin story when it comes into getting into real estate. And a lot of us, honestly, you know, we are not sitting in that seventh grade classroom dreaming about open houses, right? Like a lot of people come into the real estate world a little later in life, a little longer in the tooth, maybe a little worse for wear. Talk about just how did you get your start? And like, you know, how did you know this was kind of one of those things you wanted to do?

SPEAKER_04 3:05

So it was only five years ago. Um, I started, we moved, and then I started working as an admin in the office. I did that for a couple of years. And truly, the more and more I got used to the paperwork, seeing what was coming in, like this is kind of neat. Maybe I should pursue my license. And there you go. Took off from there.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

So you literally got your start in the office and saw the behind the scenes, which I would say would be scare the heck out of me and make me want to run away from real estate. And instead, this like really super focused you into like, I I think I can do that, you know?

SPEAKER_04 3:41

Yeah, I figured if I could get the the paperwork points down and understand the back end of things, that I could completely do the other side.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Yeah, I mean, that's smart. I don't disagree with you on that. A lot of people do it the exact opposite way, they're more interested in like all the glamour of the real estate world, showings, the c the uh commissions, all the things. And um, I think it's interesting that you uh you witnessed the what the team was doing and you kind of found that you maybe could have stepped up and uh done the same thing they're doing. That's

Serving Rural Towns With Few Agents

SPEAKER_01 4:15

very, very interesting. You've built quite the positive reputation in the rural, I would I call it rural residential space. And this is the areas that are, you know, like you go to um any of the big cities in Nebraska, and we call them big cities, there's really only a half of one of those, and to be real honest in Omaha, but the larger metro uh the the larger cities in our state, and there's like hundreds, thousands of agents competing in those markets, but you get into like or Nebraska, realistically, there's not a whole lot of choices for folks out there. Talk about that journey, you know, as being that rural residential specialist.

SPEAKER_04 4:55

Gosh, it's so you every town is so unique. And you're right, there's not a lot of agents to choose from. There might not even be anyone that services that area truly. You have some that kind of go in, go out, but someday to be there week in and week out and know the market, it has been a blessing. And I love learning about all the small towns. Granted, you're not in one town, it's a rural area. So I've gotten to learn about a lot of unique little cities and help people that maybe don't have the opportunity to have a sole agent in their town.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

You know, I mean, and we'll let's just talk about the elephant in the room. You know, like you know, through our talks and through the whole entire months-long process it was um in onboarding you. You were one of the ones that kind of popped up as a fan favorite in our organization early on. I absolutely adore you, and I thought what you were doing was great. I was against, you know, the houses on our website and stuff like that, but was won over by the fact that, you know, like these rural markets do deserve, you know, the higher horsepower marketing and things like that. And I think like for the longest time, and not to speak, you know, like people do what they do and they have their business models and things like that. But realistically, you know, you've got the guys, it's one agent in the town. There's really not a whole lot of choices for folks. You know, some of those one agents are spectacular, some of those one agents are not as spectacular. And so being able to bring that branding power that Iron Horse has kind of built and all the connections with the technology and things like that, that's got to be a big benefit for your career.

SPEAKER_04 6:30

Absolutely. Not only for me, but for the client too. Just for buyers to see and take hold of the Iron Horse standard, that goes way and above what a lot of these other local agencies are doing. Uh, I love being able to share that and you can just give more to them and they get more out of a sale that way.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yeah, I think. Oh well, and again, like it seems interesting. You've seen in the like, I really believe that the the the industry worked really, really hard to get to this point where we had kind of figured out cooperation between agencies. We had kind of figured out all these amazing things that we could do as an as an organiz as an as an industry to help the clients get the best possible service. And then the last few years, there's been lawsuits, there's been, you know, different big corporations that have kind of pulled back and said, wait, we're not gonna do that anymore. And so now you're and and what's really fun is like working in rural residential, that rural market, you kind of have not really seen the cooperation side of things too very much. You know, it's kind of like pick your agent and then that's your agent, you know, like it's there's no real hey, the buyers can have their own and that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_04 7:45

Yeah, it's definitely I call it the wild west as far as cooperating goes. And I think bringing more knowledge to the area and any rural area is going to be helpful. I I do hope to do that, encourage that more and get a better understanding of how real estate works and how we can help them, how we can offer both sides. Um, I look forward to being able to do that in the future. And working on it now, to be honest, hating our clients, uh really anyone, whether you're a client or not, I hope come up, ask a question, hey,

Raising The Service Bar In Nebraska

SPEAKER_04 8:20

how does this work? I would be happy to answer.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah, and I think like Iron Horse is kind of born of the idea that the client and the agent both have kind of been left behind in business models nowadays, that it's, you know, like the it's about the sexy brand and some of the people, the brand is the most important thing, or the commission is the most important thing, or you know, having your little territory and keeping everybody out of it is the most important thing. Iron Orse kind of comes at that from the different direction of what can we do that is a high level benefit to the client? What can we do that's a high level benefit to the agents that are with us? Those are the most important assets that we have. And so, you know, like I would only imagine that that had a little bit to do with your decision to maybe reach out to us and see if uh if a match was possible.

SPEAKER_04 9:15

Absolutely. I mean, when I learn, when I get beneficial things, that rolls over into my clients. The more I can learn about things and stay current and up to date, that just trickles down. I I can better perform for any of my clients, whether that's buyer, seller, if you're just interested in what your property is worth.

Building Vendor Relationships Across Counties

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Yeah. No. You know, like working in re in the rural part, especially of the state, I would imagine that relationships are probably a huge part of your job. Developing those relationships, not only with your clients and your neighbors and things like that, but also with those people that hold the tools to help your clients get to where they need to go. How has that been like maybe a joy and a pain in the rural part of the country as far as like finding those um those partnerships and those relationships with like lenders and title companies and different things in order to to cover that big area that you cover?

SPEAKER_04 10:12

So I will say um a lot of people work with like one of those or maybe two of those. Uh, I definitely get a a broad spectrum of, oh, I'm gonna use this title company here, I'm gonna use this lender from over here. Let me call and find out and and meet some new people. Uh it definitely ranges and gosh, but it's been so fun having that like bowl to pick from, if you want to say. It's a handful of people now, and it's been wonderful. I can go this side, you know, two hours this way, two hours west. And I still have somebody that could pick up a phone, hey, what's this for title? Um, and work with them that way. That that has been really fun. And you just get to know a bigger area.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Yeah. And the and I think that being able to work with different, like I think one of the problems that a lot of us have is is we kind of funnel everything to the same pot, right? So I have a title company that I'm, you know, again, it's always the client's choice, and we always make that very known to them that if they have a preference. Um, but if they don't, I know the people that are gonna take care of my folks. I'm gonna funnel them that direction, or maybe in a couple of different ideas and say, here's a couple ideas for you. But we're highly, you know, they go highly off of our recommendation a lot of times on that kind of stuff. And I think it's interesting for you, you know, to to just by necessity have to work with different people and you can see, well, you know, this is what the other guys do. And my expectation is that my clients all get treated the same. How do you handle like trying to, I don't know if the word train is correct or not, but equalize, I guess, is a good thing, your client's um uh service through all of those vendors that you're working with.

SPEAKER_04 11:55

You know, once you get a good start, a good handle, I said you always get to have the first one, right? And then you can kind of adjust to each one of those, like how do they work? What does their process look at look like? And then I kind of I keep to my own, like these are my expectations. I run through what I need, I ask them the what they need in return. And then typically we don't have any issues as far as getting through the process. Now I will say, you know, getting things done can look a little different sometimes, but truly everyone that I work with is has done a wonderful job.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Well, and you seem to me like the, you know, the the the the amount of getting to know you that I've had is that you're a very laid back, very not that you're not a lawyer for your client, but that you're also not gonna get spun up over the tiniest little things, and that you

Teaching Clients So Nothing Surprises

SPEAKER_01 12:45

seem like you're a very good spirit guide through the process of all the things with the real estate world. Is that, would you say, like if you're looking to a younger agent, you know, like is that something that you would say is a benefit to the industry is to just have that kind of, you know, guide view of of real estate and not so much the pound the square pegs into the roundholes type of which I've been known to be at times.

SPEAKER_04 13:08

No, I I think absolutely like I almost look at it as as educational. Let's teach, let's go over, let's handle these things. But when you come up with an issue, let's pause, take a breather, everything will work out the way it's supposed to. We will figure it out, we'll get some whatever we need accomplished, it will happen. Being optimistic, but yeah, going through those steps so there's no surprises along the way. I think that more than anything helps a lot of people go through um a transaction.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Yeah. And I and again, like I I know in my history of my time in real estate, there have been times where, you know, like I passionately, vehemently advocate for my client. And it does come off as like stomp, stomping everybody that's involved. So it's really good to have that clear head and that I love that what you just said, stealing it as of right now, because I I don't think you have it copyrighted, but that teacher mindset that teaching people the process, even some of those vendors that we're using, sometimes just need to be educated on what our expectations are as I'm giving my client to you. And I think a lot of people really don't think that way when it comes to dealing with their clients and in, you know, in the sense of, man, we really, we really do need to be educators, not only of the path the process to our clients, but also to our standards, to those in the industry that we're we're referring our guys to or that we're working with. That's a very smart comment, I would say.

SPEAKER_04 14:37

Thank you. Education is everything. The more you can prepare, um, the more solid or confident you'll feel moving forward. And that that's with anything.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Yeah, super smart. Let's take a break and we will be right back.

SPEAKER_03 14:51

Hey, The Land Report. The American Land Seller Podcast is proud to be sponsored by the Land Report. For landowners, investors, and land professionals who want more than headlines, the Land Report goes deeper. Market trends, data-driven insight, and long-form storytelling focused entirely on land. This is not residential real estate news. This is land, big land, working land, legacy land. Visit thelandreport.com and see why it remains the most trusted publication in the land industry.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

And welcome

The Small Connection That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_01 15:30

back to the American Land Seller Podcast. Today we're visiting, of course, with Ashley Pittman from Iron Horse Land Company. I might be Ashley a little bit, you know, prejudiced or a little bit um, I don't know what the word is, but I really think Iron Horse is probably one of the better companies that we've had on here.

SPEAKER_04 15:51

Just maybe. Just just just by a slight little bit.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

No, we You know, like I don't know if you've listened to the podcast uh very much or not, but we have had some pretty impressive people on here uh from different companies, and so that's always it's always fun to talk to guys about what they're doing in different parts of the world and with different companies, even locally. We've had several different ones, but it's always a good podcast to have one of our own on to talk about some really cool stuff going on in Nebraska. Ashley, let's just get going with what is one decision that changed everything, but at the time felt super small.

SPEAKER_04 16:26

So making a connection with another agent. Um, to be honest, you know, when when you start just, hey, a new friend comes along the way and you don't think much of it. You hang out here and there nonchalant. You hang out, make friends, you meet other friends. That's how I ended up here. That is my my takeaway with that one. Connections mean so much. And meeting one new person changed my trajectory only for the better, and I'm super excited about that. I I love that relationship and hope that continues, of course. Never know like meeting someone where that could lead.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Yeah, that I mean that is absolutely true. Um, I think like going back to my path through the industry, like I'm a huge, of course, if you listen to this podcast, you know this. I'm a huge advocate for the Realtors Land Institute. I think that's a huge tool for anybody that's in the land world as far as getting education, finding those people, those like-minded people that um feel the same way that you do or whatever about the land. And so again, like that's how we ended up with Brittany Murphy was through RLI and going to stuff and meeting her and following her on social media a little bit and talking to her every once in a while and just kind of seeing her journey. And so you just, you know, those you don't think about it at the time, but you're you're right. The being open to new relationships is is not always a scary or bad thing. It's a lot of times it's very beneficial, especially in our business where knowing people is is a lot of the business.

SPEAKER_04 17:57

Oh, for sure. And being in those like-minded groups and and wanting to keep moving forward with those, it's been an absolutely wonderful journey with realtors. And I yeah, that's how I got started. That's how I got here.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Yeah. You know, and that kind of and and I'm not trying to put you on the spot here, but that, you know, like the last few years, the Realtors Association, the National Association of Realtors,

Why Realtor Ethics Still Matter

SPEAKER_01 18:20

really has had a really rough time internally and externally. And, you know, like I think it's interesting, being from the part of the country that you're from, that you even through your entire career have really been an advocate to be a realtor. Talk about why that is. Like, why is why what do the realtors have? Do you think that uh maybe just uh being a regular agent isn't just clicking?

SPEAKER_04 18:44

Sure. Ethics, I mean, I think that's huge. How you treat everyone, we're gonna treat everyone the same ethically through the transaction. That is a ton, educational wise, and they're always meeting and they're having a conversation and how we can make things better and have residential, like residential issues in government, how we can help that way. Gosh, there's just so many things happening even above you have, you know, your local level, state level, national level. I think that gets eyes on everything, on all the details. And being part rural, I think we bring in a piece that not everyone really gets to see. Like things are a lot different out here, and bringing that viewpoint to that to help make things better for everyone uh has been a good opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Yeah. And to add to that, I think that the, you know, like the whole spirit of what the realtors and again, there's good and bad people in every organization. It doesn't matter. You know, like I I get it. I have a lot of people email me and tell me like they got, you know, screwed over by a realtor or whatever, or a real estate agent, and you know. But I really do think, like from what I've seen is is that they really do try and focus on cleaning a lot of that up and the extra ethics classes and the um the education that they put forward for their members and um the camaraderie and the getting together, you know, and the opportunities there. And I, you know, the sad thing is I don't think 80% of the people that are members of the organization even have any idea of what an asset they really do belong to. Um and so not to get off on like selling realtors to the world, but um, it really does uh it holds the industry again. Like I'm about how do we improve the industry? And the realtors really do try and hold the higher standards for the industry and self-policing and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_04 20:38

I think when you when you can have those professional conversations with someone else that's doing what you are, it can only make everyone better. It's only a benefit.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Yeah. And then again, like knowing those people, even if it's outside of your own company that you can call that you know are doing things the right way because you've met them and you've talked to them and you watch, you know, their business. And and so, you know, like knowing the what you know that you can call. I can't tell you how many times I've called other brokers throughout my career and said, Hey, uh, hate to bother you, but here's what I'm dealing with and what do you think, you know? And they're always intentionally steering me to what they believe is the right direction, and you know, even when it's not something I want to hear of sometimes. But it's uh it's a good organization, and I think like the you mentioned the political action, I think people don't realize in our industry like what we're guarding for them, you know, and especially if you're just a real estate agent that you just got your license and and there's no connection to anything beyond your community and what you're doing and your local, you know, comps and all that stuff. You don't realize that like there's over 50 bills that are introduced just in the Nebraska legislature and alone that have have to do with property ownership and property rights. And there's a group of people, you know, that raise money and go out, spend time and energy trying to fight for the rights of property owners. And so I think that there's more to our industry than what I think a lot of people read.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

Yeah, I I think that that's a good point to bring up too. I wish that our clients, I think sometimes they get the wrong view of agents. You know, we're really advocating for them and and through realtors even more so. But we're there to protect the client. You know, all all of our through the whole transaction, it's truly what we're there for.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Yeah, I think that's that's the focus. Again, I'm not gonna sit here and apologize for making money as a byproduct of that because I have a lot of time and energy invested into it, and probably, you know, most people have no idea because we're not telling them what we do because it's a lot. What what we are doing behind the scenes to help get the transactions across the finish line. And not only that, but also helping so that your house is holding its value and that your property taxes aren't going ridiculously high and you know, and questioning our leaders at every, you know, like really, do we need to add more onto the closing process or more onto the tax burden of our clients and of our the landowners in the state and the nation? So um yeah, great conversation there. And again, like I think just just another example of Iron Horse aligning themselves with an organization that that benefits clients overall.

Real World Client Conversations Hit Different

SPEAKER_01 23:15

So what surprised you most about being a real estate agent, changing gears just a little bit? What was one of the things that you got into it and you're like, wow, I did not see that coming?

SPEAKER_04 23:25

Okay, remember I started on the admin side.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:29

Truly until you get started and going out there and doing the work and talking to the clients, it is a whole new world. I don't care how much you can go to class, how much you can prepare, having those conversations is a lot different. So I think truly learning to do what it is we do, you do that in the field. You do it while you're working. Yeah, as much as you can read and anything else, I guess it shouldn't have surprised me, but having those conversations can be a lot different than what you would ever imagine. Sitting in front of the computer going through the paperwork, like, oh yeah, this you just go down the line, talk about all this stuff. No, that is truly not usually how that goes.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Easy money, Ashley. It's easy money. You can do it. Like I tell people all the time, you think your job's crazy, no matter what it is. My job is so crazy that I can have a client watching the Chiefs play the Broncos and get a Rocket Mortgage commercial come on and all of a sudden just out of boredom during the commercial, get pre-qualified for a couple hundred thousand dollars and need to be looking at houses by the end of Sunday, you know. And so I didn't even realize when they woke up Sunday morning that they even were interested in buying a home until Rocket Mortgage or one of those mortgage, you know, online mortgage brokerages pre-qualified them. Now, let me just preface this. I am not by any means Rocket Mortgage is not a sponsor of our show. I do not write you know, like high I don't recommend them, I don't not recommend them. I'm just gonna put that out there. But they're just one of them that advertises during uh football games. And so again, it's a crazy business. And when you're dealing with those people that have never bought a property before, they just know they have the money for it, it can be a lot of education, as you said before, correct?

SPEAKER_04 25:14

Absolutely. Yeah. Well, let's dial it back a little bit. Um, let's talk and have a conversation about what you're doing exactly and expectations. Expectations and and learning what's what's gonna come next are huge.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

That conversation about what do you want.

SPEAKER_04 25:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

You know, and again, I I was always like very available when I was in the residential world. I didn't mind showing 10, 12, 15 houses if that was the market that we were in to get, you know, so that and I think that people need to go look at a couple before they realize what they, you know, what they really want. And I always thought it was my job just to remember the goods and the bads when they were going through. I could just, you know, like really focus in on they said they like this, they said they hated this. And then as we kind of narrowed it down, I was like, okay, well, you said this was a problem for you in the first house, you know, now it's not a problem anymore. And so it's just been it's just an interesting, definitely an interesting career to have, but fun one and a rewarding one. I mean, I think talk about the time, you know, like you definitely went to sit at a closing table with a first-time homebuyer, probably one of the best days of your life, besides buying your own first home, I would guess.

SPEAKER_04 26:23

Yeah. There's nothing better than seeing how joyful they are to be taking that next step. There's tons of emotions going on. You know, they're confident in what they're doing. And afterwards, you're moving in. There's no place like home. I mean, and that's truly that that feeling for that day makes you want to get up and do another one. Let's go through another transaction, let's have another first-time home buyer. That it it's there's not another feeling like it.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Yeah, I definitely agree. That was one of the addictive things about being in the residential world. And, you know, and it's, I mean, when you go specialize into land, that doesn't go away because there's a lot of people that, you know, grew up hunting or grew up riding four-wheelers or grew up, you know, boating, whatever that that was. And it's just as fun to be able to help people go through, and it's a little bit more of a challenge, but it's it's just as fun to be able to help people realize their their dream of owning a recreational property somewhere in, you know, Nebraska or whatever, whether it be for hunting or for horse, you know, owning horses or whatever that looks like. And it's so it's just a different, different path to get there, but it's still just as rewarding to help people realize those goals that they've had and all the the hardship that they went through to save that money, you know, and get to where they're at. So um what's um what's one thing you wish folks would know more about the real estate profession?

SPEAKER_04 27:54

I think that I'm gonna circle back about us advocating for them. I think that that that's a big one. And I guess connection, it should be more about connection with people and I truly there to help no matter what.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Yeah, that's I mean, that's good. I like that. I think uh, you know, maybe you could add to that like a pre-qualification letter doesn't mean you're really qualified. That might be number one. It's a good step in the right direction, and you definitely need to have that, you know, like before you go look at houses.

SPEAKER_04 28:25

But absolutely, that's always helpful.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

I think that when they get that pre-qualification, they're like, Woo, we can go spend a half a million dollars, and that's not always the case.

SPEAKER_04 28:35

But have a mini mini celebration.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Yeah, just a mini, like just people a mini.

SPEAKER_04 28:41

You got started.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Don't let it change your life. It's a

Land Sales And A Deeper Connection

SPEAKER_01 28:45

good start, but let's get going.

SPEAKER_03 28:47

Ashley, let's take a quick break and we will be the American Land Seller Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Iron Horse Land Company. At Ironhorse, land is not a side business, it is all we do. From farms and ranches to recreational and development properties, our team brings deep land expertise, boots on the ground experience, and high quality marketing to every listing. Whether you own land today or are planning for the future, Iron Horse Land Company helps landowners make confident, informed decisions. Visit IronHorse Land Company.com to learn more.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

All right, we're back with Ashley Pittman from Iron Horse Land Company. Ashley, uh, you still good? You got one more segment in you? You're not uh having to run out. And I know you got uh live on a farm and got lots of chores you gotta do. Can we get you at a good time?

SPEAKER_04 29:46

Yep, all good. I got failure coming, but you're good. You got my morning.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

All right. Let's talk about something near and dear to my heart. Let's talk about land sales. Okay. Um, I think, you know, and I may be putting some words in your mouth, but I think one of the things, uh one of the other things that drew you to maybe and reaching out to Iron Horse was that real goal in your career to add that land sales aspect to your resume. And I, you know, like I know you've done some stuff and you've got some development stuff that you've worked through and things like that. But let's just really dig into like what is what does land sales mean to you, first of all, and then I'll have a follow-up question after that.

SPEAKER_04 30:28

Yeah, absolutely. I think it's just it's a connection to the land. I grew up on a small acreage with horses. I've always been drawn to that. And like I it's an acreage and maybe not a lot, but it's always meant home and just having a little bit of space. So that connection goes deep, I guess. And there's always a draw to that and appreciation for having that little bit of land goes a long way. I I've always been drawn to a little bit of acreage, I guess, and being able to do kind of your own thing there.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

Yeah, you have you have a lot more freedom, good or bad. You know, like I always uh when we're working on developments and things like that, I always tell people to think thoughtfully about your covenants and restrictions because whatever you don't put on there could end up in your neighbor's yard at some point. Um, because you just, you know, the only time you can control is when you're developing those initial controls. Living in the country, you're absolutely right. You do have an awful lot of freedom um to uh to live the way you want to, to have the things that you want to have. You've got a little bit more space to spread out. And uh when you're talking about acreages, first definitely, and some that fits into those sometimes those recreational properties. It's kind of fun to have that freedom.

SPEAKER_04 31:46

Freedom and connection. I mean, the biggest thing to me, there's just a connection about taking care of the land you own too. I've always liked that idea.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Yeah. Um, some of the things like especially with us based in Nebraska and kind of where our where our Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota right now, where our listings are at, we deal a lot with agriculture, like production agriculture. And in that bucket, I always put cattle production and crop production. Are you looking forward to that aspect of diving into more of that production agriculture sales business?

SPEAKER_04 32:22

Absolutely. I grew up in Gibbon, so that's farmland through and through. We're now in Stewart, which is ranch country. Still a lot of farmland that I didn't realize up here. But absolutely, I mean, that's what drives our state and is very important to all of our local communities.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

Yeah, there's um there's a lot to know, I think, and a lot of people miss that, but there's an awful lot to know when it comes to selling land, especially if you're dealing with production ag land. And and I think that a lot of a lot of people think they'll go get their real estate license because they were a farmer when they were a kid, and you know, and it's gonna be easy for them. I know from knowing you that you definitely do not have that take on uh land sales. What are your and what are your plans to get yourself boned up and educated um in order to like feel confident stepping out there with that investor or that producer and representing their property in a land sale?

SPEAKER_04 33:20

Absolutely. Rubbing shoulders with the or elbows, rubbing elbows with the experts. So taking time to get educated on what the important factors are in each one of those different ag businesses, whether it's ranching, farming. But I look you and and Brian. I mean, right there are two resources right within my company that I can go to and get an idea or a better idea and grasp of everything that needs to be handled.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Yeah, and I think like taking those baby steps like you're doing

Learning Farm And Ranch Sales Right

SPEAKER_01 33:55

in the sense of like, you know, already volunteering to go ride around with us when we're on listing appointments and showings and stuff like that, if we can make it work and and being like just like you've been your entire career, very curious and and open to the education aspect of it, you know. And I think a lot of folks, you know, well, it's just like when you started in your residential world and you you said that yourself during this thing. Like I watched the paperwork and I thought, well, just check off all the boxes, it's for pretty easy. Just go walk through a house and be like, kitchen, yep, it has one bathroom, one and a half, yep, I've got that, you know, and people will just buy it. And the realization that the licensing is the keep you out of jail portion of it, the actual, you know, doing the job is a totally different world.

SPEAKER_04 34:41

Absolutely. So if I can see those conversations happening, go through some of that, know what to expect, have the typical client questions come up and be there and have all that information firsthand, I think will be very beneficial. This is not something I want to wing it and go try and do.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Yeah, no, you don't, you know, I've seen a lot of uh things play out really badly. And again, like when I started in the industry, I didn't like, you know, I started out with residential. And I will, you know, never apologize for that because it was a great opportunity for me to learn the industry. It was such a great experience with just dealing with clients and things like that. And during the time after I initially started, you know, I just continued that education and going to RLI, going to all the, you know, like the UNL has different things that you can go to throughout the year, the extension service, all that stuff, and just getting to know the industry and those the people that are involved in it. And those bankers, you know, title companies, all those the attorneys, all those guys are great resources for education too. So I really appreciate how you're going about it. And I think that it's gonna be smart and it's gonna be a big impact on your career going forward. So we're super excited to see what we can get you mixed up in and uh and uh see where your career goes. Um, you know, Iron Horse is uh Brittany and I are both, and Brittany by Brittany, I mean Brittany Murphy, our COO. We are both like marketing gurus. Like that's where our passion is at. I always say that I'm not a I'm not a salesperson or I'm not a sell stuff. I market really, really well. And then I have the opportunity to break people into properties and you know and show them stuff until they find what they want. Really don't, you know, I'm not a real, you know, salesy person. The marketing aspect of the the industry, like talk about what your approach to that is, you know, like

Marketing Rural Listings Old School Plus Digital

SPEAKER_01 36:35

from the standpoint of you get a listing, how are you trying to get that in front of as many people as you can, especially in your challenge of being in rural Nebraska?

SPEAKER_04 36:42

Absolutely. Social media, always huge, you know, going to the different local groups and being within those, participating in that, always helpful. Being in touch with chamber, you'd be surprised how how well uh still your good old listing flyer piece of paper goes in your local gas stations. I think those are actually get looked at a lot more than people think. And then just talking to people, going out, hey, what what's available, what's new? Um emails or just staying in contact. I mean, staying in touch. You might not find something that's on the market right now, keeping contact and some phone calls, reaching back out. Hey, something else came up. This is what what's going on now.

SPEAKER_01 37:24

Yeah, I think that's like something smart too that you just said was the old school, you know, like flyers going out, handing those out, um, to the different area, you know, gas stations, bars, whatever, coffee shops, especially, um, ASCS office for us, you know, like that's I'm dating myself, far uh, the FSA Farm Service Agency. But um, all those things, you know, uh really do make a big difference on, you know, getting getting your stuff in front of people because you know, a lot of times those banks that you know, there are producers or investors that are sitting in those waiting rooms for a little bit. And if your booklets or flyers or whatever are sitting on their coffee table, it's just natural for them to just pick those up and read them. And so I think that's that's kind of something a lot of people I think have forgotten about.

SPEAKER_04 38:12

So yeah, I think the jump from AI to that, it's kind of funny where we're at right now in the world.

unknown 38:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

Yeah, that's definitely true. People, you know, like being a real estate agent, I always tell people, and again, it sounds arrogant, but it doesn't mean to be, because I want to put people in a mindset. Um, but you really got to think of yourself kind of as a local celebrity. How do you balance like what you're doing on social media on your personal stuff with what your business is? And like I know I'm uh internally a very politically opinionated person. Most people won't see that on anything that I put out. Um, you know, if you have a private conversation with me and it's appropriate, you'll hear about it because I have opinions. You know, like what does that look like? Sharing your family stuff, sharing your political opinions, share and sharing your business stuff out there on that social platforms.

SPEAKER_04 39:01

Gosh. Um, you know, I really keep to myself quite a bit. My side of social media is gonna mostly be trucks, kids, and animals politically wise. I'll probably have a private conversation with most people about that stuff. Unless I see a someone make a good speech, maybe just um about people in general. I might post a few things like that. Business wise, I like sharing all the ups and downs everywhere. Um, things learned, things that are going on right now.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

Uh I think you, I mean, we just definitely are a very good educator overall. And I think that's kind of, you know, like the the process. Educating people on the process is a lot of times a very difficult thing. And being able to be vulnerable out there and share some of the struggles with your wins, you know, like uh most agents are like, one again, here's another sale under contract, just listed, you know. And what we're seeing is a lot of that is like sharing the, you know, it it depends on what class you're in and what day. There's a lot of people that are like, oh, the story's over, we're back to like, you know, we want to be educated. I don't really I see a lot more interaction on my stuff where I'm sharing somebody's the story of a property. And again, like that's the fun part about it is walking around with those landowners, talking to them about their history, their family's history, what you know, when they got here, you know, like, and you can just kind of see in people's eyes over there is where, you know, the the um my kid, you you know, my son learned how to drive a tractor on this field here, and you know, like the different stories. It's a lot of connection to the land world and the residential world by that storytelling, along with that education.

SPEAKER_04 40:39

Yeah, I think connection is everything. What happened, the experiences anyone has had, all drawbacks to whether it's home or land. There's a connection there.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

Off the off the just off the wall question for you. If you could have a superpower and it was maybe useless, maybe what would that be? What kind of a superpower would you have?

SPEAKER_04 41:00

Okay. Um, it's gonna be pretty much useless because we're not horse-drawn carriage anymore. Uh, I'd be a true horse whisperer. That would be amazing.

Horse Whisperer Dreams And Real Influences

SPEAKER_01 41:10

And you can talk to horses. I don't know. There's a lot of them out there. That might be that might not be as useless as you think. I could I would hire you for sure because I could never understand what they were thinking when I was when I was a big horse owner back in the day. But uh what are the and like I guess we'll just finish it up with this question, but uh what are like the top two or three people that have influenced you and why?

SPEAKER_04 41:33

So it'd be my grandma, my parents, and my husband. Um, my grandma, because she was a go-getter, do something every day. Like no matter what, get out, go do something. And she enjoyed outside. So she was on her homestead till 102. On her homestead till 102 and had about five acres. Now, granted, she wasn't taking care of that five acres alone, but she would take her walker and walk outside, pick up sticks. I mean, like, go get her, go do something, make the day productive. And then my parents, I mean, how can you not? They raised me, work ethic, get things done, integrity. Uh, I can't say enough about what they taught me. And then my husband just for support. Yeah, everybody has, you know, those transactions that you need to get off your chest and hey, this is going on. It's fine. You'll be fine. You'll figure it out. You always do. So having that behind you is always encouraging and helpful.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

Yeah, that's that's really cool that you have that because it is not a lie. There are the ones where, you know, whether it be some banker that's trying to be on vacation while you're trying to get your people closed or or whatever, you know, like whatever in the industry that throws at you that oh by the way, or 16 that come at you after you do a home inspection or property inspection, or yeah, no, it's uh it's definitely great to have that uh that support group behind you. My I'm blessed that my wife and I are both in the industry, so there's a lot of understanding there of you know being able to like sit down and just vent about things once in a while. But you gotta be careful not to abuse people with that. But um, but definitely great, great to have that avenue. Well, Ashley, thank you

Growth With Iron Horse And Wrap Up

SPEAKER_01 43:20

so much for taking the time today. Um I think it's been a great conversation. I think something that's that people are really gonna learn uh a little bit more about definitely you, uh, but about um some of the stuff maybe they didn't think about that happens uh behind the scenes in the industries. Um you got anything uh get off your chest before we may uh maybe a while before we get you back on the the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 43:41

Well, I hope that's not the case, but I just look forward to all the experiences with Iron Horse and the opportunity, some growth and getting to know my land a little better.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Yeah, that's I think it's gonna be exciting for you. I think um there's a lot. I think, you know, like I keep thinking that hearing sixty percent of uh of farms and ranches are gonna change hands in the next five years just because of where the age uh uh of the landowners is at. So it's a a really big opportunity um to be able to um help grow Iron Horse and we do appreciate how patient you've been with um you know as we grow we're learning and adding new things and it may not be coming as fast and and and as you want it but you know we're trying to get it done correctly and not just done to be done so appreciate all that and uh we will see you all down the road as we wrap up another episode of the American Landseller Podcast thank you for spending part of your week with us for more episodes resources and updates visit www.americanlandseller.com and be sure to find us on your favorite podcast platform if you found value in today's conversation please like subscribe follow rate and review the show on whatever app you are listening or watching on it helps more landowners and land professionals find the podcast you can also connect with us on social media for updates new episodes and behind the scenes content until next week Kobe and Britney wish you success in all your land endeavors God bless you and have a great week the American Landseller Podcast is brought to you in part by the Land Report.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

The Land Report is the premier publication covering land ownership land markets and the people shaping the future of land in America from farmland and ranches to timber, conservation and legacy properties, the Land Report delivers deep reporting, trusted insight and long form storytelling focused entirely on land. Learn more at thelandreport. We are also proud to be sponsored by Ironhorse Land Company, a multi-state land brokerage specializing in farm, ranch, recreational and development land across the heartland. Built by land professionals, Iron Horse Land Company sets the iron standard through high quality marketing, real world land expertise, and a boots on the ground approach that puts landowners first. To learn more visit Ironhorse Landcompany.com