Issue link: https://canadawidemedia.uberflip.com/i/812937
Dominion LenDing Centres OUR HOUSE spring 2017 >> 13 (7) CoUrtesY oF the 7 VirtUes BeaUtY inC., istoCK Barb Stegemann has proved that home-based businesses can thrive. len lane, a mortgage broker with Dominion lending Centres in Edmonton, offers four tips to know before getting started. » DIg Up OlD reTUrNs: you need to show two years of tax returns to qualify for a new mortgage. » reFINANce yOUr exIsTINg mOrTgAge: "If they're going to start a [home business], they definitely want to [refinance their mortgage] before they actually make the leap of faith and become self-employed," says lane. » ThINk TAxes: the home-based business will likely lose money in the first year to reduce the tax liability, making an approval difficult. » Be AwAre OF cApITAl gAINs: according to new Canada Revenue agency rules, if you sell your home and have claimed a portion as an office space, you have to pay capital gains on a portion of the house. sTArT-Up smArTs philosopher Queen: a Woman's guide to Living and Leading in an illogical World. the company hit the national stage when stegemann appeared on the popular CBC show Dragons' Den in 2010 to make a business pitch to the cast. she caught the eye of the Dragons, the business investors on the show, getting $75,000 for a 15 per cent stake in her company. in 2013, she was chosen by the Dragons and viewers as the top game Changer in the history of the show for making a social difference with her company. From there, she created her line of fragrances and hasn't looked back. the company continues to grow globally, a success stegemann pegs to the honesty of the product. she says that in a world filled with clutter, the ideals of the seven virtues, such as truth, courage, justice, and wisdom, have resonated with people. stegemann says her fragrance line is an example of leading with those principles. "people want to know what success looks like," she says. "it's in your divine, it's in your soul and it's in your leadership of what is right, what is ethical and what is good. more so now than ever, we really need people to draw courage and speak up and speak truth to power and do what's right." With growth comes responsbility as the company grows, stegemann's goal is to reach more people and turn the 7 Virtues into an international brand. she views her company as creating solutions for women who want products without harmful chemicals. and it's all accomplished from the Ceo's home. although the company has a distribution centre in toronto, stegemann still tests products out of her garage. "We're not built to turn on creativity at nine and shut it off at five," she says. stegemann says she started the com- pany at home because she didn't want to leave her kids. thanks to the success of the 7 Virtues, she is running a thriving home- based business and now her kids are by her side, lending a helping hand. " it's living the dream. i can get up at 5:30 in the morning and walk down the hall to my office, grab a decaf and start working. I REally lOvE tHE SEREnIty Of tHat. " —Barb Stegemann Clockwise from left: adult orphans and widows who are part of a cooperative in Rwanda grow patchouli for the 7 virtues; women growers in Rwanda; making perfume, afghanistan; 178 hand-picked rose petals go into each 50 ml bottle of noble Rose of afghanistan perfume.