By Mary Schnack

Adalheidur Karlsdottir, known as Ally to her friends, had an interesting and varied career before she starting focusing on real estate. Although she has only been active full-time in real estate for the past three years, she became interested in it as a career after more than 20 years of being part of a real estate investment business she participated in with her husband.

Born and raised in Iceland, Ally now splits her time between her homes in Iceland and Spain.  As the general manager and co-owner of Eignaumbodid Ltd., a real estate investment company with more than 20 years of experience on the Icelandic market and recently more focused on the global market, she truly believes it is possible to do real estate internationally.

Ally started her career as a journalist at Morgunblaðið, one of the biggest and most respected newspapers in Iceland. With a B.Ed. degree from the Icelandic University of Education, she was offered a job as a mathematics teacher at The Commercial College of Iceland, where she then taught for nine years.

While teaching, she started her own retail company 26 years ago, selling high quality and designer clothes for children. She then started another retail company that did wholesale distribution of gourmet gifts and delicacy products.

The children's wear company was one of the most respected Icelandic companies in its field when she sold it in 2004, and it still is today under its new owners. She sold the gourmet products company earlier this year.

For 25 years she had studied different ways of investments for her own purposes. She and her husband also had been running a real estate, property development, investment agency and business consultancy while she taught and grew the other businesses.

She enjoyed this field of work and decided to change course in her life. She studied at the University of Iceland to become a state authorized real estate agent and graduated in spring 2006.

In order to improve her entrepreneurial, managerial and leadership skills, she took a special program in Advanced Management in the IESE University in Barcelona, Spain, and graduated last May. She then took a short focused course in developing leadership skills. Both courses aim at the global market and are ranked among the best of their kind in the world. "These studies have given me a great competitive advantage on the market. I now have a wider global vision and up-to-date knowledge of the market, added to my years of experience of running my own businesses.

"My advice to women business owners is always education, education, education. I would advise women to use all means possible to educate themselves. It is important to have a focus and know where you want to go. Then analyze the steps needed and start the journey. Always make sure you help other women to follow your path. It can be lonely at the top."

As a board member of FKA, the Icelandic Association of Women Entrepreneurs, Ally is responsible for International Affairs. She also is a member of the European Task Force of the FCEM, the International Association of Women Entrepreneurs. She has a keen interest in international networking and global relations among women in business in order to contribute to the empowerment of women through business and would like to make more contact with African women.

"Ally sees the big picture when it comes to international business," said Runa Magnusdottir, a member of FKA, FCEM and owner of Connected-women.com.   "She is a trustworthy person who has great experience in doing business on an international level."

Eignaumbodid continues to grow at a rapid rate. Its main markets are Iceland, Spain, Morocco and Slovakia, but they are also working on expanding to new markets, including Germany, and doubled the size of their offices this year. They are experts in selling holiday homes in Spain with a wide variety of properties designed and built by the best standards in beautiful surroundings on the Costa Calida and Costa Blanca. They also have good properties for rent in excellent locations and with luxurious furnishing, ranging from  brand new two-bedroom apartments near the beach to private villas with swimming pools and golf.

"We are always looking for new markets for investing. We are in Morocco, but have not gone to sub-Sahara Africa yet. We find Africa very interesting in that respect and believe Africa has great future potentials. Access to international networks through such groups as FCEM and Connected Women (http://www.connected-women.com/)  is really a good way to expand your business contacts."

Her future plans are to "keep on growing my business and myself as a person. I like new challenges in order to gain more experience and knowledge and thus being able to contribute more to others. In that way I will be able to do more for the society and the charity projects I have been involved with for the past 5five years and hopefully be a good role model to my children."

She enjoys golfing, gardening, family and friends in her rare time off. "My work is my life," said Ally. "I enjoy it to the extent that when I go to my office I do not feel that I am going to work. Of course, I need to travel a lot and often I can mix it with some days off. Then I like to stay with my family, go for a round of golf, rest in my garden, read a good book or spend the afternoon in the kitchen with my husband or good friends, cooking a good meal to enjoy with a glass of selected wine in good company."