Think the life of the typical Abu Dhabi wife is filled with coffee mornings and pedicures? Think again. The capital is teeming with talented, educated women who - perhaps for the first time in their lives - have the option to choose whether or not they want to work

Written by: Laura Fulton

Couple this financial freedom with a dearth of decent part time jobs, and opportunity comes knocking. Without money as the main motivator, more and more women in the capital have decided to go out on a limb and try something new. Meet three female entrepreneurs who have turned their passions into careers that might serve them for a lifetime.

Cindy Padgett
Sales lady
If you met Cindy Padgett today, in her pumps and pink lipstick, you would never believe she was once a forensics investigator. "I investigated cases of corruption and fraud, first with a bank then with an accounting firm and later an insurance company," says Cindy, a native of Durban, South Africa.

"With the insurance company, I spent most of my time investigating suspicious deaths."

Since then Cindy has run a bed-and-breakfast, taught in a nursery school, and worked as a registrar at her daughter's school. But like other mums who only want to work the hours their children are in school, Cindy has found that the amount of money she earns is not enough to justify the time she spends in the office. "It's getting harder and harder to be bound to one place for the whole morning every day. I never have time for myself or to get things done without Tyler with me, which is sometimes difficult for both of us."

So when Purely Pearls came knocking, Cindy opened the door. "These are not your grandmother's pearls; they're beautiful and classy, unusual but still reasonably priced – the average necklace runs between AED 150 and 250 – plus there's a wide variety," explains Cindy, who arrived in Abu Dhabi three years ago. "Even better, the UAE was first built on pearls, so there's the cultural connection between this place and the pearls."

The job suits Cindy in every way; she loves pretty things and never leaves home without a fresh pedicure. Add that to her love of chatting and meeting people, and she's found the perfect recipe for success. "I'm really pleased with the flexibility of the hours, being able to work for myself as much or as little as I want. I get to help throw a great party plus anyone who hosts a party earns a percentage of the profits in products."

And while Cindy stands to earn as much selling pearls one day a week as she used to earn working every day in the office, helping people look good is more important to her. "I'm not a sales person; but I love this job because I really do love these pearls. I'm not going to sell you something if I think it looks bad on you just to make a sale!"

Sally Foley-Lewis
Executive, career and personal coach
Though she didn't know it at the time, it seems Sally Foley-Lewis has been in training for her current position her whole career. "From day one, my career has been about training, facilitating, teaching, and helping people build their skills," says Sally, who first worked as a psychiatric hospital recreation officer. "In the hospital environment, even though it was based around leisure and recreation, my job was really about teaching patients skills for living – whether it was cooking, exercising, or wood working."

Sally arrived in Abu Dhabi from her hometown of Brisbane, Australia, five years ago. After completing her MBA, Sally happened upon an opportunity to spend a year working on a pilot program with the Australian Trade Commission.

From there, she moved to a company that specialises in training. When she branched out on her own, she was finally able to utilise the skills she'd been developing all along. "In all the positions I've had, it's been about skills, empowerment, helping people achieve the things they want to achieve," explains Sally.

These days, Sally works for herself in a field that is sometimes called ‘life coaching', a term she feels doesn't fully encompass all that she does. More specifically, Sally performs the roles of executive, work place, business, and personal coach.

Why coaching? "I always want to learn new things; I want to constantly develop and grow," says Sally, who was attracted to the profession in part by the group dynamic. "I was getting interested in seeing how coaching is evolving, and how the value of coaching really has an impact on people, whether that's in the workplace or in a small business or with an executive or on a personal level. For me, the transition to coaching just came naturally."

After a lot of painstaking research, Sally found a course that suited her and learned how to become a personal coach. "I've earned my certificate, and I'm working on becoming credentialed with the International Coach Federation. I have to complete a certain number of hours plus other requirements, but it will give me more credibility."

Kirsty Volpe
Image consultant
Like a lot of mothers, Kirsty Volpe knows that parenting isn't a glamorous job. "After my children were born, I decided to take some time out to be a full-time mother," recalls Kirsty, who landed in Abu Dhabi from Britain 12 years ago. "Although I loved having the opportunity to take care of my children, after four years I felt like I had lost a little part of myself. I was tired, passionless, and somewhat bored."

Then one class changed everything. "I had my colours done with Louise Wrankmore, who was the Abu Dhabi House of Colour consultant at the time, and it changed my whole life!" recalls the mother of two. "I walked out of her studio that morning with a spring in my step, a smile on my face, and a new sense of fulfilment. In a matter of weeks, I'd had a full makeover. I could not stop talking about my journey of self-discovery."

It wasn't long before Kirsty was ready to do for others what Louise had done for her. "Louise recognised my passion for what she did, so when her circumstances changed she approached me with the opportunity to take over from her," says the bubbly Kirsty. "I jumped at the opportunity. After four weeks of training at the House of Colour head office in London, I returned to Abu Dhabi and hit the ground running."

These days, Kirsty is always on the go. "I run Colour Analysis, Make-up, Image and Style classes. I also provide personal shopping, wardrobe reviews and de-cluttering, men's classes, teenage classes, and kids' classes," she says.

Despite the hard work, Kirsty's new profession fits her personality perfectly. "I never get bored, and I love the interaction I have with so many different people every day," says the self-proclaimed people person who loves the flexibility her job affords.

In fact, Kirsty finds there are very few drawbacks to her job. "It can be difficult to switch off because I am responsible for 100 percent of the business. Also, I can never have a bad hair day! The best way for me to promote my classes and services is through my own personal style, so I can't even go to Spinney's without my lipstick on!"