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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Would you buy a used car from The Crazy Lady? You would if you lived in Richfield. I recently parked next to the Zion Branch in Richfield and the car parked next to mine had a license plate holder with the name "Crazy Lady Auto, Richfield."
I asked our manager Rick Robinson who the Crazy Lady was and he said, "C'mon. I'll introduce you to her." I really enjoyed hearing a great success story from Jackie Anderson, the "Crazy Lady."
She told me that five and a half years ago she was in the market to buy a used car. Money was a big issue and she looked in the nickel want ads and saw an ad about an auto auction in Utah County. She met Kevin Gallagher of Utah Auto Sales and learned how to bid and buy. Well, she got a car that fit her budget and it seemed like a great deal.
When she got back to Richfield, she wondered that since she got such a good price that maybe she could sell it and make a little profit and go back and get herself another car. She parked the car in the lot at Albertson's food store and sold the car in just a few hours. "Hey," she said. "That was easy. I wonder if I could sell some more?"
She went back to the auction, bought a couple of cars and found out that the first quick sell was not typical. It really wasn't going to be that easy. People who heard what she was trying to do said, "Hey, you must be a crazy lady to go into a business that you know nothing about." Maybe she was crazy, but she had committed herself and now had to sell those cars.
Initially, she called her company Utah Auto Sales #2, but the Crazy Lady label stuck and soon she changed the name of her little start-up. Jackie's son Dustin has now joined in to help, bringing management and financial expertise to the fledgling company.
In March of 2001, The Crazy Lady moved into a beautiful, large facility at the north end of Richfield. That location has really helped the business grow and the company now sells about 15 cars each month. Maybe Jackie Anderson wasn't so crazy after all.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
