Molly Kiely--Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur, Adventuress, ...

Self portrait by Molly Kiely

I don't know if "met" is the right word, but if we agree that the word gets the job done, then I met Molly Kiely online several years ago. Probably in 2003. I had been surfing the web for several hours, reveling in pictures and stories about ancient travel trailers brought back from the dead. When I clicked on a now forgotten link and ended up at her web site, I hit pay dirt.

Back then, she was the parent-restorer-big sister-nurse to a 1950 travel trailer. A mid-century trailer is not really ancient, but is old enough to show some character. And need a lot of work. A Roadmaestra. I was jealous until I visualized all the sweat needed to put an old-timer like the Roadmaestra in shape.

Anyway, I leaned a little closer to the computer screen when I saw the pictures of the trailer and read about how Molly was going it alone with the restoration. Extraordinary woman, my mind whispered to itself. Going it alone takes guts.

How did Molly come to buy the old trailer? What I seem to remember is that she and the Arizona desert are kindred spirits. First she bought a couple of acres of heat, sand, and scrubby vegetation just outside of Tucson. Some time later, she happened upon the old priced-just-right trailer that was in need of tender loving care. Maybe the trailer came before the land. I don't remember for sure. But for Molly, trailer plus land equaled a soul-soothing getaway from a less-than-satisfying 9-to-5 life anchored by a high-tech job in California's Silicon Valley.

I emailed her that night with a few rambling comments about the trailer. Since then, I've probably emailed her two or three more times. In one message, I sent her links to some web sites I thought she would like. In another, my condolences when her homeless buddy, Buster, passed away.

Has the trailer passed away, too? Or just been passed on to another owner? There haven't been any recent mentions of the Roadmaestra. No wonder. Molly's traded in that California to Arizona commute to put down roots in the desert. She's got herself a home in the Avra Valley now. Attached securely to the ground. Not just a trailer that a strong wind might push to California in a weird dream following a night of too much tequila, but a real house.

I love the washing machine on the front porch. Molly says it's an Arizona thing.

I also like Molly's writing, photography and art. She's sort of a paradigm for the "modern woman," or at least what I imagine the modern woman to be. She's still got a day job to pay the bills, but her nights (and weekends) are made for better things. Writing, painting, photography, illustrations, pinup art (WARNING: Adult content; Molly says, "There's nothing wrong with pretty girls."), comics ("comics that are not for kids," as Molly puts it on her comic web page), and art shows.

I've read that if you type in "home-based business opportunities" in the Google search engine, Google will come back at you with 69,000,000 hits. I suspect a lot of those home based businesses are scams. Molly's the real deal. She's the real home-based business woman. Except that tag doesn't fit exactly.

Purists would have a fit if Picasso were called a home-based business man. Rightly so. So scratch the previous paragraph. I'll just say that today's economy gives people the opportunity to pursue higher interests--art, religion, philosophy--and make a living at the same time. As an economist, I can say, "Three cheers for capitalism." As a person, I'll add, "Three cheers for Molly Kiely for making the world a more interesting place."

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Two ID Cards--One Straight and One in Drag

Jay Abraham's consulting fee is $5,000 an hour. When you're a marketing genius, you can charge that much and some businesspeople will gladly pay it. Why not? If that $5,000 expense puts, let's say $100,000 in profit in your pocket, then it's an expense easily justified.

From Chapter 1 of Jay's book, Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got comes this example of proactive, client friendly service:

The Royal Bank of Scotland issues two high-security check cashing cards to its transvestite clients — one with a photo of them dressed as a man, and the other as a woman. A bankspokesman said: If any cross-dressing clients go shopping dressed as a woman, it s possible for them to have a second card so they can avoid embarrassment or difficulties when paying by check.

If more businesses put this kind of thought into their customer relations, there would be fewer business failures. That would be good for the owners and the workers they employ. And good for the economy, too.

I wish Jay Abraham would put more of his wisdom down in the form of the written word. He's recently started his own blog, but I'd like to see more of his ideas in book form. Books are the cheapest way to get knowledge. Jay does personal appearances, but I can't afford the $25,000 he charges each attendee for those. His other materials are also pretty pricey. Jay may or may not have ever taken an economics course (I don't know for sure), but he has an intuitive grasp of price discrimination. Indeed, if I were a businessperson, I'd be impressed with the many techniques that Jay Abraham utilizes to earn money. Perhaps the most important technique is summed up in Jay's philosophy:

You must understand and appreciate exactly what your clients need when they do business with you — even if they are unable to articulate that exact result themselves. Once you know what final outcome they need, you lead them to that outcome — you become a trusted advisor who protects them. And they have reason to remain your client for a lifetime.

Marketing 101, The Gospel According to Jay. Amen!

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The Bottom Line on These Jeans Could be Your Bottom!

How low cut can jeans go? This low, for now.

Fashions in clothing come and go. Will the look you see in the picture catch on?

That depends on whether you and I are willing to throw to the winds what's left of modesty, and actually wear the Zoomp jeans shown at a recent fashion show in Brazil. I can't tell, but I guess you put these "I'm too sexy for my clothes" denims on one leg at a time.

I wonder what they look like from the back. ...

Hmm. ...

Maybe I don't want to know.

The fashion industry is driven by planned obsolesence. Perfectly good clothing draped on hangers in millions of closets gathers dust because it is no longer stylish. In the meantime, designers stich together even more outrageous garb to appeal to fickle consumers. It keeps the dollars circulating and employs a lot of people. And benefits charities as the old clothing is cleaned out of those closets and donated to charitable thrift stores.

Advice to America's youth: Don't wear these unless you want to see your parents and teachers in similar garb.

Prediction: If they do catch on, the makers of complementary products will experience a surge of demand. In particular, shops offering bikini waxes will have more business than they can handle!

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