Heidi Stirling-Aguiar out of the hotel industry and into business as owner-operator of Express Muffler Shop.

She concedes her family and friends were shocked when she told them she would leave a desk job for the grease and grime of a garage. And she concedes there are a lot of men who just won't trust her replacing their car's muffler.

That is solely because she is a woman. She is satisfied, though, that times will change.

The 30-year-old said: "Let's face it. In some respects, it still seems to be a man's world. But there are a lot of women out there with cars and they like the fact that they can come in and I can show them the problems. And they appreciate the fact that ours is a service, and we want to provide the best possible service at the best price.

"It took some time, but more and more men are recognising what we are doing and the old stereotypes are coming down.'' She admits she was a neophyte when she first took over the seven-year-old business in May. Her ex-husband, Mr. Jackie Stirling, had run the firm before deciding to leave the Island. And the day he decided that he couldn't wait to sell the business, he called her to say he would lock it up.

Heidi didn't need to think twice.

"I didn't have much choice,'' she says now. "Jackie called me in April and said he was leaving. We are divorced, but we are still the best of friends.

"We have two boys and he said he was trying to sell the business to pay child support payments. Two weeks before he left, he told me that he hadn't sold it.

I resigned as credit controller at Elbow Beach Hotel and came to work over here. It was either do that or lose everything. Just close the doors. He was leaving anyway.

"Jackie wanted to sell it to make sure our boys (Keegan, 8, and Damian, 10) would be taken care of. He's always been very generous. He was worried that we would be taken care of. He handed me the keys and left. I had no choice and here I am.'' She knew nothing about the business at first, and depended on sole employee Mr. Jason Smith, to show her the ropes. But she was a fast learner.

"Jason is a Godsend,''she remarked.

She has also had surprising and significant support from various garages and firms that are, in some cases, competitors, even though she is the only company specialising solely in mufflers.

She had worked at Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort front desk and had worked her way through the reservations department and into the accounts department, before transferring to Elbow Beach Hotel.

She said of her current job: "It gives me the freedom to do what I need to do for the kids. Besides, if you are sitting at a desk, your mind is going a hundred miles an hour. But you are just sitting there.

"Whereas in this job, I'm standing up under cars and welding under cars, bending pipe in what seems like a hundred degrees. But I still have to go into the office afterwards and do the accounts and the paperwork and everything else. I'm pretty exhausted by the end of the day, because it's physical work.

I'm not just sitting there all day.

"People are finding the way I'm operating the business a convenience, because with appointments, they can get their cars back within 30 to 45 minutes, instead of losing it for the whole day. And it's a muffler that is going to last longer.'' She was this week making plans to take possession of supplies to redecorate the front office part of the 12 Cemetery Road premises. She is quite prepared to paint the office, herself, and lay down new tiles to give the reception area a more appealing decor. But she hinted that she was hoping for help.

Her likely options for assistance appear to be her second husband, Mr. John Aguiar, and her only staff member, Mr. Smith.