HAPPY NEW YEAR. BLAH, BLAH!
Happy New Year, and blah, blah, blah!
It’s January 3rd of the new year and I feel like I am already swimming upstream. So much to do. So much to accomplish. So much to get done in 2025!
Ever wonder why you do what you do? I do, all the time. I think of all the things I could be doing. Painting, lunching, taking it easy. Unfortunately, although fortunately, I only find those things fulfilling for a short time. They bore me after a bit.
I blame my parents.
Being raised by a strong woman has its faults. My mother did everything for our small farming community. If you wanted something done, you called my mother. Everyone called my mother and she made it happen. As the mayor of my hometown for over 25 years, she reorganized everything from the police department to the sewer system, started the non-profits that were needed for a community to thrive, and managed it all on a shoestring budget.
My father mowed the yards and planted the gardens for all the town widow ladies. And for those who couldn’t garden, he picked the vegetables from his massive parking lot-sized garden and gave them away for free.
You see….I have no choice. It’s in my DNA. That’s just what we do. We are neighborly.
Before Abu Dhabi, I was on a political track. I had just finished my fellowship in Political Leadership and was on track to run for public office. Today, my colleagues in the USA are Governors, and US Senators and work in the highest offices of the White House.
But it is my husband who brings home the bacon, so when Abu Dhabi called, we packed up and here we are.
Thirteen-plus years later, here I am. Doing what I feel needs to be done here in Abu Dhabi.
When I arrived, it was a whirlwind of new cultures and experiences - and a far cry from the refined and polished international business hub it is today. There were gaps in the community that needed to be filled from a grassroots level. So I got busy and did the work I felt needed to be done.
I started a blog, as many people do when they first arrive in the UAE, but mine took off like crazy. The Abu Dhabi PTA was my humorous way to educate my home country about life in the UAE. No, I do not ride a camel. No, I do not wear an abaya. No, nobody is trying to kidnap me. No, I do not fear being stoned in public. You know, all the silly questions we would get before the big Hollywood stars were hired to tell the world how absolutely fabulous Yas Island is.
Do you remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from school? I am a firm believer. There is no way women can prosper without their physiological needs being met first.
So I started the Facebook group UAE Housemaids. At the time, the first and largest group to assist housemaids in finding good, responsible sponsors who would treat them like family. Along with connecting housemaids with sponsors, we discussed best practices, laws, housemaid rights, sponsor’s rights, and shared experiences. I am extremely proud of the difference this group made in the lives of both helpers and sponsors.
And I now secretly consider myself an honorary Filipino. Adobo for everyone!
Then there was an enormous community outcry when the Catholic Church closed its thrift shop in Abu Dhabi so I started the Facebook group FreeCycle Abu Dhabi (currently FreeMe Abu Dhabi). Both an environmental and charitable initiative, this gave the community a place to exchange and donate their unwanted items to those in need instead of chucking them in the trash, keeping our landfill clear of usable goods. Today, it is Abu Dhabi’s largest community initiative.
And now, there’s WEADS.
Starting a small business is hard. It is the hardest thing I have ever done. I would rather give birth to breech twin toddlers than go back to the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey. Although, I will admit, given the chance, I would probably do everything differently.
At the time, when I started WEADS, pronounced WEADS like Beads (a common question from outsiders) there was no community support for women entrepreneurs. Today, there are more options but there still isn’t anything like WEADS which supports women from the ground up on a very personal level. There’s a saying, you get what you pay for. Yet, in a world hyper-focused on profits — I choose WEADS to be priceless, and I should add, invaluable.
Which brings me to my love of community. I believe with all my heart that the magic of any community comes from the people who live in it. The people who engage, exchange, contribute, and share a common bond. I actually love community so much that I got a Masters degree in the subject. Creativity + Community Development. The perfect combo. How do we create meaningful, creative, grassroots communities that serve community good? That’s my jam. I want to contribute to a thriving community.
To do meaningful work with the community, you should be a part of the community. When do the Brits have a school holiday? You need to know this because the community vibe shuts down. Do you know what streets are impassable during National Day in Abu Dhabi? Need to know this stuff too because it can be a nightmare. You may have teenage Emirati boys silly stringing your car for four hours as you drive 5 meters and need to take a massive wee.
WEADS is my way of developing the community in which I live. It is my way to ensure women have the opportunity to do whatever they would like to do. Want a small business to buy school meals, perfect. WEADS has your back. Want to be able to buy unnecessary purchases on Amazon without your husband knowing? WEADS is with you. Want to build a monster mega-million, sell to the highest bidder, and move away to the South of France? I am jealous but WEADS is there.
Regardless of whatever you need, want, or aspire to do, I want WEADS to support you. And it is our mission to create an ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in Abu Dhabi to flourish.
Yes, this inaugural blog post is quite pointless and a little all over the place, but my message for the new year is this:
In 2025, WEADS will shout from the top of the Pineapple Buildings. I want all of our friends and neighbors here in Abu Dhabi to understand the importance of choosing WEADS-owned businesses. Whatever it is you are selling, servicing, or offering. I want our friends and neighbors to understand the importance of supporting Abu Dhabi-based women entrepreneurs. When they buy from WEADS, they invest in the growth, prosperity, and ultimate happiness of our Abu Dhabi home community. When they invest in us we reinvest in Abu Dhabi.
Shop Small, Shop Women-Owned, Shop Abu Dhabi!
Wishing you mega-massive success — however, you define that.
Gina 🤍
Founder WEADS
