When Barb Stegemann made her pitch on Dragon's Den she reduced two of the Dragons to tears and came away with three investors, making her the first woman from Atlantic Canada to land a venture-capital deal on the CBC show. Ten years later, her company, The 7 Virtues Beauty, is an international leader in the cosmetics industry for its mandate to source organic, fair trade essential oils from countries experiencing turmoil (such as Afghanistan, Haiti the Middle East and Rwanda). Now, the best-selling author and social business innovator and entrepreneur will share her knowledge and experience at the Sobey School of Business’s fourth annual Women in Business event, Women in Retail: Impacting Our Communities With Purpose, on October 13.
Attendees will hear from diverse voices of women in retail leadership and participate in discussions on how to impact their communities with purpose. In addition to our keynote speaker, Women in Retail: Impacting Our Communities With Purpose will feature three panels of women retail leaders sharing insights and answering questions. Attendees will also have the chance to network at the Pop-Up-Shop & Networking Hour and attend a post-event evening social at a local venue.
Barb Stegemann
Despite the wealth of female retailers that Women in Retail will be featuring, there is still much work to be done regarding gender diversity in retail. In 2021, women held just 12% of chief executive roles in retail. Stegemann is one such woman, whose business started out of her garage in Bedford and has grown to an international powerhouse of social enterprise.
Raised in the Maritimes, Stegemann’s entrepreneurial vision began when her best friend was severely injured in Afghanistan while serving in the Canadian Forces. As her friend recovered in a Vancouver hospital, Stegemann began thinking about how she could contribute to stabilizing the region.
“I didn’t even set out to make perfume, I just wanted to help farmers in Afghanistan,” Stegemann shared when she sat down for an interview. Initially, she found that she didn’t fit the already-established paths to helping countries in turmoil.
“I’m not a soldier, I’m not a world leader. So, I created a new way.”
Stegemann began by writing a bestselling book, The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen, which seeks to empower women to reach for their dreams. After her book Stegemann began making contacts with essential oil merchants in Afghanistan, Haiti and Rwanda, and realized this was her way to carry on her mission of peace. The company The 7 Virtues was realized, and through the ups and downs of launching and running a social enterprise, Stegemann has been trailblazing as a woman in retail ever since.
Barb Stegemann and Ella Webster BA’22 at Ella’s Convocation in Spring 2022.
“There was no word for social enterprise when I started,” Stegemann told us. The 7 Virtues is now an award-winning social enterprise and is the only Canadian brand to be sold through Sephora’s “Clean at Sephora” fragrance space across the US, Canada and in 13 countries across the EU.
As for her connection to Saint Mary’s University, Stegemann’s connection does not stop at simply being from the Maritimes. Her daughter, Ella Webster BA’22, is a recent SMU graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Ella and her brother Victor work with Stegemann at The 7 Virtues, a fact that is very meaningful to her.
“The most rewarding part owning a business is that I get to work with my two children. I’m so grateful that I created something out of thin air that lets me be around my family and gives me the freedom the decide what I want to be, what I want to do. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”
Stegemann brings a wealth of experience as a women entrepreneur in the retail space, and her story shares messages of overcoming adversity and empowering women to embrace their inner disruptor. In our interview, Stegemann shared not only the story of The 7 Virtues but wisdom on living life as an entrepreneur.
“It’s very important to design and live the life you want. We’re only here for a short time, so while we’re here we should live life with meaning and purpose. Entrepreneurship gives you that.”
Watch Barb’s full interview where she discusses her entrepreneurial journey here: