Sisterhood in businesshood
Odette is building a business around community, and community around her business. Connection keeps her inspired and thriving — and it’s one thing men might be missing out on. Welcome to The Club.
“Women are given permission to talk and to share their hardships, and that binds us in such a special way.
“If men were given the tools, and the green light, to do the same from a young age, would they operate in a similar way? I don’t know. But I really think they’re missing out. The patriarchy is fucking men over too.”
Here at The Club, we are always highlighting the challenges facing women in entrepreneurship and the tech world that don’t necessarily apply to men. Because, you know, that’s exactly what we set out to do.
So, my conversation with Odette Barry, small business PR whizz and founder of Odette & Co, threw me something of a curveball.
Because Odette is a human ray of sunshine, and instead of telling me about a challenge she’s faced, she honed in on the exact opposite. She shared something wonderful about being a woman entrepreneur that she thinks men-folk are missing out on: the sisterhood she’s found in businesshood.
Through the eponymous Odette & Co, Odette (along with a small team) offers a suite of publicist and PR services, as well as her flagship Hack Your Own PR program and podcast.
She’s the kind of person who brings her extroverted personality into everything she does, and her business is no exception.
As such, she’s connected IRL to other business owners in her community in Byron Bay, and she’s created a network of entrepreneurial friends and collaborators from all over Australia and the world.
Community and connection is an incredibly important part of Odette’s entrepreneurship. On hard days, it’s what keeps her going. In fact, sometimes, she almost values it more than the work itself.
Finding your people
Odette had her son at 22 years old, and she’s written about why that was the right choice for her, personally and professionally. However, as a young mum, she didn’t feel an instant affinity with other parents.
“I didn't really have the sisterhood of motherhood,” she says.
“I do have a sisterhood around business. Probably 90% of my friends have a business, and I fucking love that. We walk, we talk, we brainstorm. It’s such a fulfilling component of it.”
As a business owner, Odette says she’s a “friend collector”. She’s seldom lonely, and every transition she goes through or challenge she faces, chances are she knows someone who’s been there before. She has plenty of her own wisdom to share, in turn.
“Everywhere I go I am connecting with people, and that’s a muscle that has been built from having a business.”
Having said that, she’s also discerning about the people she chooses to work with, and the stories she helps to tell. A big part of her business MO is to be a force for good; to amplify the voices of people making positive change in the world.
“I’m really looking to champion people who are kind-hearted; who are compassionate to their fellow humans; who are advocates who want to create change,” she says.
When you put it like that, it sounds like a no-brainer. But Odette admits she hasn’t always operated in this way.
The turning point came when she attempted a ‘buy nothing’ year, whereby she allowed herself only three new things in a 12-month period, in a bid to reduce her consumption and contribution to the waste crisis.
“It was interesting going through the process,” she says.
“I would see targeted Instagram ads and I would have the product in the cart before remembering and unpacking it. It breaks the cycle of consumption.
“I don’t have that rule anymore, but I don’t need it as much, because it changed my mindset. Every time I have that feeling that I want something, I come back to asking myself: But do you need it? The answer, almost every time, is no.”
All of this also left Odette feeling conflicted about some of her clients — particularly businesses that were product-led.
“I was really feeling the rub of amplifying businesses that were encouraging consumption. So I made an intentional shift in my business to stand for something.
“Prior to that, my values were still there. But if I’m being fully transparent, I was afraid that if I took a stand I wouldn’t have enough business left.”
Of course, that fear was unfounded. Odette’s recent clientele includes a PhD climate scientist promoting their new book; a psychologist working on play therapy for children who have experienced trauma; a business coach who works exclusively with B Corps; and the creator of a card game that helps build meaningful intergenerational connections, to name a few.
She’s surrounded by entrepreneurs who are on her wavelength and aligned with her values; people running businesses she genuinely wants to see succeed.
“There are still product-based businesses with meaning and intent, who want to make the world a better place. And there are big ideas people,” Odette explains.
“It was the best thing I ever did. It made it really obvious who my customers are. They absolutely exist and they’re excited to work together. I wish I had done it a long time ago.”
Strength in vulnerability
Odette’s brand of PR isn’t tailored to women, in particular. She doesn’t market specifically to women, or present her courses in a women-centric way.
However, in her six years of teaching entrepreneurs, she’s taught a grand total of three men.
By her estimation, her online and podcast audience is more than 90% women.
“My hypothesis is that women seek permission, whereas men just do,” she says.
And to be clear, she very much sees that as a positive.
In her experience, men are more likely to leap in and assert themselves boldly — to put themselves forward for opportunities without questioning whether or not they’re qualified.
Women are just as capable and just as bold, she says. But they prefer to be prepared.
“Women come to me to learn how to do their PR well.”
At the same time, Odette believes women gravitate towards the kinds of connections that come with professional support, mentoring, and especially group training.
Of course, they want to learn, but they also want to vent and share; they want to talk about the parts of their business they’re struggling with, and they’re not afraid to ask for help.
Seeking validation is not synonymous with fear. It’s not a hesitancy or a lack of self-belief.
Odette sees it as a show of vulnerability — the kind of vulnerability that is actually a show of strength; the kind that is not always accessible to men.
“Women are given permission to talk and to share their hardships, and that binds us in such a special way,” she says.
“If men were given the tools, and the green light, to do the same from a young age, would they operate in a similar way? I don’t know. But I really think they’re missing out. The patriarchy is fucking men over too.”
Odette has found her people and embraced a community that ‘gets’ her, and she’s thrown the gates open for other entrepreneurial women to join.
And thank God. Because if there’s ever a time we need solidarity — to cling to the people who share our values; who create safe spaces for venting our fears and frustrations — it’s fucking now.
If Odette’s story resonates, join the conversation…
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