Photo: Contributed
Okanagan Edge and Kelowna Chamber of Commerce are partnering to showcase some of the region’s most exciting entrepreneurs through the “Top 40 Under 40” program.
Sponsored by BDO, the “Top 40 Under 40” recognizes high-achieving professionals in our community and showcases their accomplishments. This marks the eighth year the chamber has conducted a “Top 40” showcase. Honourees will be featured throughout the year on Okanagan Edge.
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Marika Soleil moved to Kelowna in 2011 from Calgary knowing very little about the city and with relatively zero contacts. This quickly changed as she pounded the pavement to restart her real estate business by networking, volunteering and doing anything and everything she could to penetrate the Kelowna business community.
It worked.
Going on her 16th year as a Realtor, Soleil is a veteran at her career choice but always felt there was something missing. Last year she was able to fill this void by taking her volunteering to the next level and bringing the Shoebox Project to Kelowna.
Soleil’s passions lie in helping all kinds of people, whether it’s with her real estate business or on a personal level. Her ears are always open to listen, and being able to help the community is helpful not only to others but for her own sake. Her business mantra is simple: Always put people first. These days, with the number of negative external factors affecting our mentality, it is crucial to communicate and lead with compassion and empathy.
In the last few years, Soleil began to dive deeper into her personal story around mental health, making the decision to do what she could and make a bigger impact on the local community. Partnered with the Great Canadian Woman Publishing House, Soleil recently announced a new book she co-authored called She’s Full of Fire. The book shares inspiring stories about women experiencing all kinds of situations, hardships and experiences. By sharing some of her story publicly, she knows that she can help others through theirs.
In 2021 she brought the Shoebox Project to Kelowna and is now the lead co-ordinator, overseeing everything to do with the Kelowna chapter. Its mission is to positively impact women who may be experiencing homelessness through gift filled shoeboxes donated by other community members. The shoeboxes are filled with approximately $50 of essentials, treats, gifts and a heartfelt note from the maker of the box. The charity was started by Jessica Mulroney in Ontario, and last year was its 10-year anniversary. Partnering with Hope, Karis, the Bridge Youth & Family Services and Now Society, its holiday campaign goal of 145 shoeboxes turned into 188, and this year it hopes to double this number. The plan is to add surrounding communities to the Shoebox Project for 2022 and its volunteer campaign is starting in summer 2022.
Soleil is a natural born leader and teacher. She has helped many agents on their career paths and continues to do so while building the LIVV Group, her business. She has recently completed her real estate broker course with the UBC Sauder School of Business and is looking forward implementing her knowledge and leadership within the industry. Her next project deals with mental health in the real estate field, as this has impacted her life over the years. There is not enough out there in terms of resources for Realtors specifically; it’s a very high stress job and highly scrutinized by the public, where mental health is very much affected. Soleil hopes to take on this leadership role if presented and if it’s not, well, she is already busy creating it.
Soleil holds a bachelor of arts in communications and media studies from the University of Calgary and has held her real estate licence since 2006. She is part of the Luxury Home Marketing Institutes Guild division and constantly adding to her business education. She recently completed a designation in nutrition and working on her 200 hour yoga teacher training to aid in achieving her health goals.
The only people she is trying to impress these days are the two most important to her: her children.
Fun fact: Soleil competed in Miss Universe Canada in 2009.
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