A Brand of Excellence

WRITTEN BY LORIE A. WOODWARD OF LAND MAGAZINE

Dan Murphy of M4 Ranch Group based in Lake City, Colorado, is leaving his mark—well, actually his family brand—on Mountain West ranch real estate.

“The Rocking M4 brand is way more than just a logo—it’s our family ranch brand,” Dan said. “It says a lot about who we are and what we do.” It is a Murphy family tradition that when the children turn 18, they receive a belt buckle emblazoned with the Rocking M4 brand. “When my dad handed my son Jake his family belt buckle on his 18th birthday, it was one of the proudest moments of my life,” Dan said. “It was a symbolic statement of the honor and pride associated with our western history—and the responsibility to honor and uphold it as the next generation.”

An expectation of excellence that results from hard work is part of the family inheritance—and it’s not lost on the next generation. Jake, in a recent paper for a class at Western State University, where he, as a student athlete, is pursuing a double major in Business and Marketing degree while earning his real estate license, quoted his grandfather, “Work half a day—do whatever you want with the other 12 hours.”

“I got a kick out of the paper because it proves the family brand goes far beyond an identifying mark,” Dan said. “It is a statement of trust and excellence.”

In hindsight, the family brand seems obvious as the choice for the ranch division’s logo, but it was selected after extensive research and an outside evaluation of the team’s strengths and identity.

“After all of the time, money and research, the most descriptive and meaningful name for the Dedicated Ranch Brokerage had been right in front of us,” Dan said.

Because it carries so much meaning, applying the brand to their business is not a responsibility the M4 Ranch Brokerage take lightly.

“Our name and our history is on this company, so we strive to be the best we can be in every aspect of this business. We never forget that M4 Ranch Group directly reflects on our family’s legacy.”

The ancestors have reason to be proud. M4 Ranch Group has been a driving force in recreational real estate for decades. The M4 Ranch Group division has, risen to the top of Colorado land brokerages, selling 100’s of 1,000’s of acres in mountain ranches in 2017.

As he was preparing to depart for Africa to finish school, he met Michelle DePinto, a ballerina who lived in Denver. After a long distance relationship, she traded in her pointe shoes and urban existence for a life off the beaten path as the “best partner a man could find.”

Under the banner of MMLO Outfitting, they owned and operated an outfitting business that took clients in pursuit of the West’s top big game in the back country of Colorado, Alaska and Montana. To succeed as an outfitter, he not only had to master the art of hospitality and client relations, but also the natural history and behavior of big game, federal and state regulations, habitat management and the principles of business.

Dan recognized that the outfitting business kept him away from Michelle and their young children too much for his taste. After 20 years in the outfitting business, Dan and Michelle decided to fold the tents at the peak of that career.

The M4 Brand of Real Estate

Believing that the Mountain West real estate industry would provide an ideal environment for their work ethic, knowledge of the outdoors, and vast network, Dan and Michelle launched M4 Ranch Group. We like to call Michelle the ‘Closer,’” Dan said, pointing out that she gives the team a focal point of concentration and, with a Master’s degree in Business and Marketing, has the ability to bring the “high-flying, big-picture goals “into a grounded, get-the-details-done perspective.”

M4 Ranch Group has grown into a very dynamic group of land professionals, with expertise ranging from habitat enhancement, river restoration, conservation easements, ranch appraisals to market trends. The Brand and its goals are supported by a group of true passionate professionals from data analysis, photography, film editing to web design and the constant of SEO web placement. Covering the mountain west keeps our sales team on the road throughout what we feel is the best parts of the western lifestyle.

“Ranch real estate gives us a chance to experience incredibly spectacular land just as I did as an outfitter,” Dan said. Annually, our trucks, rangers, snowcats, and snowmobiles travel 100’s of 1,000’s of miles filming and showing ranches—and the odometer is still turning.

“Our goal from the outset was to be the best informed brokers in Colorado,New Mexico and Wyoming” Dan said. “We work hard to acquire personal, first-hand knowledge of all of the ranches in the marketplace.”

The M4 Brand of Life

Lake City, which serves as the hub of M4 Ranch Group, has 400 residents and is the only town in Hinsdale County, the nation’s most remote county. The town is situated in a valley deep in the San Juan Mountains at the base of five 14,000-foot peaks. Lake City also has more Fortune 500 CEOs per capita than any other town in the country.

“They call this place home because this area is not about what you have, but more about what elk you harvest or the fly used to land the latest trout,” Dan said laughing.

Once, Dan was helping a neighbor—a hellbent-for-leather old-timer—drive cattle. They were joined by one of these CEOs, whose company refines about two-thirds of the oil in the U.S. He had parked his Gulfstream III at the airport and driven his 1979 Ford pickup to the cattle drive.

According to Dan, the CEO’s cowboying skills favorably impressed the veteran cowhand, who said to the CEO, “You need some cash? You could probably make some decent money with day work around here.”

The CEO responded, “I’m doing ok on cash.”

The story resonates with Dan not only because it is par for the course, but it reinforces their parents’ teachings to treat every “book” respectfully regardless of its “cover.” The Golden Rule is one of the family’s core values that is also at the heart of the company.