'Become the leader of the pack' - Odette Butcher
This Women’s Month, the Cape Argus will feature resilient women who aspire to greatness. In our second piece Nidha Narrandes chats to Odette Butcher
WHEN you believe in yourself, you can climb the highest mountain, walk on water and fall out of the sky. Then go home to your two sons, make dinner and dream bigger. You’re a woman.
Odette Ste Jeanne Butcher, 41, also famously known as the “Bucket List Genie” from Cape Town, lives an inspiring life filled with adventure and continues to push boundaries to make her mark as a woman of strength and integrity.
Living on the edge of her comfort zone and fitness, in May, Butcher became one of only three South African women to successfully complete the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon.
She powered through, even with a nasty chest infection. In 2014, she completed the Petra Desert Marathon; in 2015, she ran the Great Wall Marathon in China; and in 2016, she finished the Polar Circle Marathon.
Her formula for becoming a successful businesswoman and serial adventurer is made up of one part courage, two parts ambition, half a pint of tenacity, add hard work, mix in single parenting – and voilà.
Born in Canada, her parents relocated to South Africa when she was young. Butcher grew up in Cape Town and now calls Capri, in the south peninsula, her home.
The daughter of a military man who didn’t believe it was important for girls to get an education, she didn’t let that determine her future.
“My dad is quite Victorian. At 18 I went to the UK with a secretarial diploma and I worked my way up. I started as a PA but I wanted to be on a stocks trading floor.
“I stayed in the UK for 10 years, travelled a lot and worked my way from the ground up in investment banking, which is really hard.
“At 28 I came back to South Africa, got married and had two children. I also decided to open up a home business in 2005 called Celestial Gifts. All this while still holding down a full-time job.”
Subsequently things fell apart in her marriage and she found herself divorced, with a new role of solo parent and provider to her 2-year-old and 4-year-old sons. She was more determined than ever to make her business work.
Butcher worked tirelessly to make Celestial Gifts a success. She started doing the experiences she offered through her business as a way of overcoming her own fears and testing her boundaries.
Skydiving, shark cage diving, rap jumping off buildings and learning to fly a plane were challenges she said she could do, and so she did.
While finding her feet after her divorce, Butcher decided to use them, literally, and began running. It made her stronger, with each kilometre she covered.
“I started running marathons because it forced me to put myself in extremely uncomfortable situations. The more races I ran, the more confidence I gained.
“The Everest trek was a 130km experience from Lukla airport in the Himalayas, then a 10-day trek to base camp, followed by a two-day stay at base camp and then a full marathon. There were 20 in our team, and I was the only South African and the third female from SA to have completed this experience.”
She jokes that if you think running across the North Pole is hard, you should try being a single parent and sole supporter of two young boys.
“The more extreme the experiences become, the more I need to push myself to do better. I take it all at my own pace, though. I’m not trying to get killed.
“I am not there to compete and be number one. I am there to complete my challenge and I will complete it. And in the end, it is never as hard as it looks.”
It is that same attitude that makes Butcher a successful entrepreneur. Owning a business can seem daunting, she admits, but the “one day at a time” approach helps.
When it comes to her baby, Celestial Gifts, Butcher is a beaming mama. She proudly admits she has no debt and her business of unique experience gifts is a phenomenal success.
“To be a success, you must break away from the pack and become a leader. The fear of people, nationality, culture and ageism is something we all need to overcome. If you can overcome your fear of loneliness and every type of fear associated with people, then you are on your way.”
Butcher navigates her family, business and adventures with the same set of rules. She believes that a successful leader is a woman with a titanium set of morals, values, transparency and exceptional work ethic.
If she could turn back time and give her younger self advice, it would be to embrace change and not be so fearful.
“I would tell my younger self that the world is and always will be a wonderful, magical place. Happiness is a decision. Your attitude determines your altitude.”
As a mother, a businesswoman and mentor, Butcher believes that women are capable of anything they set their minds to achieving. Even though there are barriers, and women have to work that much harder to get to the pinnacle of their careers, it is within their grasp.
Her advice is simple: “Learn to separate yourself emotionally at work. Practise detachment when dealing with people issues. Bullies cannot bully unless they are getting a response, so no response is often the best response.
“Take on your intimidators and kill them with kindness. Be firm and do not let them deter you from your career path.
“Learn how to handle men and be professional at all times in your behaviour.”
One can’t help but admire the tenacity of a woman like Butcher, who is unafraid to face down any challenge, put herself in the most dangerous situations by breaking the shackles of insecurity, and then go home to love her children tenderly.
She’s a woman.