Lessons from the Road: What Death Valley Taught Me About Business Growth

SALES FUNDAMENTALS

Kimberly Corley

3/13/20254 min read

My husband, Alan, and I recently hauled our 44ft fifth-wheel RV from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, all the way to Long Beach and attended shipping’s biggest annual event— the Transpacific Maritime Conference (TPM). After more than two decades in this industry, nothing beats reconnecting with so many familiar faces!

A surprising number of you pulled me aside to say you’re following my digital nomad journey and want to see more. Apparently, running a business from the road is a dream many of you share. Well, challenge accepted! Here's a fresh tale from the road—one that left its mark in ways I didn’t expect—and how it mirrors the commercial challenges that businesses face.

Silence, Solitude, and a Burro: A Death Valley Lesson in Business Growth

On our way to TPM, my husband and I decided to take a detour into Death Valley National Park. We parked our rig in Ballarat, an abandoned mining town cradled by mountains in Panamint Valley. After a bumpy three-mile drive down a dirt road, we arrived at a ghost town so forgotten that even the tumbleweeds looked lonely.

For the next four nights, we were the only ones there. (We later found out that Charles Manson was apprehended just down the road from where we camped. 😳)

That place left its mark on me. For the first time, I heard the sound of silence—not a car, not a cricket, not a single sound. Just stillness. The desert and its mountains stretched out in every direction, and as the sun dipped below the peaks, the stars twinkled like they were putting on a show just for us. Then, one night, as we sat by the campfire, a wild burro trotted into our camp, sniffing around for water—a ghostly visitor in an already eerie landscape.

The experience was surreal. It was also clarifying.

That week in Death Valley wasn’t just an escape—it was a lesson in business strategy. Stripping away the noise and distractions made me think about how small and medium-sized companies grow their market share, sharpen their stories, and build a pipeline that actually converts.

Three Lessons from the Desert for Top-of-Funnel Growth

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1) The Silence: Cut Through the Market Clamor

In Death Valley, the absence of noise made every thought stand out. Markets today are the opposite—a never-ending flood of ads, pitches, and promotions. Most small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) get lost shouting into the void, their messages blending into the background.

🔹 The Fix? Strip your story down to its clearest, sharpest truth.

I recently worked with a company that had a game-changing logistics solution, but their messaging was so packed with industry jargon that even insiders had to re-read it to understand. We cut it down to a single, clear statement—one that immediately resonated with their ideal customer. Overnight, engagement doubled.

The best marketing doesn’t add to the noise—it cuts through it

3) The Burro: Spot Organic Growth Where Others Don’t Look

That wild burro? It wasn’t on the map. It found us by chance, drawn to our fire. Growth opportunities often hide in plain sight, overlooked because they’re not in the usual playbook.

🔹 The best wins don’t always come from planned strategies—they wander in when you’re open to them.

I once worked with a company that was so focused on selling to one market segment that they ignored another group already using their product in a totally different way. We leaned into that untapped audience, built messaging around it, and suddenly, they had a whole new revenue stream with almost no additional cost.

Sometimes, your best growth opportunities aren’t the ones you chase—they’re the ones already circling your campfire.

The Desert’s Clarity Works. So Does Yours.

Running a business from an RV strips away the fluff—Death Valley was a stark reminder of that. Businesses that do the same? They win.

The best companies aren’t the loudest. They’re the clearest.

More road lessons to come as I crisscross the country. Want to talk growth, storytelling, or where I’m parked next? Let's connect and find your clarity in the storm.

Just because you can fire off rounds in Ballarat doesn’t mean your messaging should be all over the place.

Little did we know we'd be watering this fella from a Home Depot bucket later that night

2) The Solitude: Target with Precision, Not a Shotgun

Surrounded by mountains, we were isolated, cut off from distractions. In contrast, many SMBs waste their energy trying to talk to everyone—spraying out generic messaging and hoping something sticks.

🔹 In the desert, we had no cell signal. Just a single Starlink dish pointed at one satellite. That’s the mindset businesses need: narrow the beam, focus your outreach, and own your niche.

One founder I worked with was marketing to an audience that was too broad, burning through time and ad spend with little return. We refined their ideal customer profile and built a hyper-focused outreach strategy. Within weeks, conversion rates skyrocketed, and they were closing deals with half the effort.

Instead of shouting to the masses, they spoke directly to the right people—and it made all the difference.