Pasta Club at Home
Many lessons. Many joys.
It's a long one…so buckle up.
THE BEGINNING!
If you are in my inner circle, you will know that every second sentence out of my mouth is “I have had this GREAT idea!” I would say pretty confidently that 40% of them are shit, 60% are great and out of that 60%, I would say 10% come to fruition. I would LOVE for it to be more (one day), but my focus is building something that can function without me later on, so I can create more than a measly 10% of my ideas. Mark my words my little petunias ...one day it'll be 100%!!
As I have aged, I have been able to better understand the execution of my ideas. Are they worth pursuing? What's the general time frame in turning it around? How much will that cost? Can it buy my castle in Greece? The ideas will either be fast like Speedy Gonzalez and I have to run to Bunnings IMMEDIATELY, or they will be at the back of my head, slowing marinating quietly over a longer period of time. All the details get worked out in your head, but not in physical form…yet. It seems that the marination ones hold the most gold, and also seem to be the best path to take, in my personal experience.
Pasta Club was officially born in June 2019, but was an idea I had been writing about in a class back at University in Brisbane in 2011. We launched Pasta Club last year with so much success, and we were entering 2020 with HUGE plans. We attempted to take Pasta Club to Byron and Sydney - then COVID hit and cancelled those interstate clubs, plus the upcoming public and private Melbourne bookings.
The first lockdown was just the dust settling on our new life in ‘isolation.’ It was all the baking, arts and crafts, bread-making and the things you had neglected to nurture before COVID. Although I was on crunches, it was still nice to slow down- do nothing. The second lockdown (now) for me is different. I cannot fucking lay around any more, I cannot watch any more Netflix or do crafts every day or attempt to be super creative with all my meals. I want to DO something, and I want it to be meaningful. People are sad. We’re anxious, we miss our friends. We are SICK of being inside and not drinking cool Margs with mates.
I also realised at the exact same time, that us Victorias sadly aren’t going to be reunited in groups any time soon. The initial reality of 2020 Pasta Club domination had exploded and died. But it was reborn, risen from the ashes and given a new name: Pasta Club: at home. Whilst we obviously couldn’t replicate the exact experience - we could get pretty damn close. We would employ some of the same businesses we do at Pasta Club. Give them money, keep them going. We would box it all together so you could have your own P Mama Pasta Club. Something to look forward to at the end of the week. A box of love. A box of warmth. A box of joy.
TO BEGIN ANY IDEA: actually create it. I made the Pasta Pack - and delivered it to some guinea pigs whose opinion is of the highest value. After each test delivery, I held my breath completely until receiving the message ‘IT WAS FANTASTIC” (or that in many forms). After confirming from all parties that it was a great idea and that I should proceed - it was alive! Post on the shop, yell about it, other people yell about it (ZFB bless ya) and it sells out. First you get excited and feel all the joyous layers of gratitude and enthusiasm. Then the realisation that you aren’t a caterer or have one MORSEL of logistical understanding in your brain as to exactly HOW this shall be pulled up. But, like many things that I take on, I lead blindly confident that I can pull this shit off. Because unbeknownst to many of you - lots of huge scary things have been pulled off by me in the past, by the skin of my teeth. I lead with confidence knowing that I am surrounded by fellow business women who DO know what to do, and have surrounded me and this project with new learning in the form of CONSTANT phone calls on my end, a shoulder to lean on, and an ear to scream at.
THE MIDDLE/THE SEVEN
CIRCLES OF HELL
Now. I am one of those people that is VERY clear about my strengths and weaknesses. Whilst there are weaknesses across the many varied and colourful parts of my personality, lets just hone on into the business ones. Here goes: 1. Emails in all forms of responding and reading. My goal in life is to never have to read or respond to an email...ever. Sadly owning a business doesn’t ALLOW THAT. You would not believe how many emails I get, and each response sends me down a different rabbit hole for hours (everyone reading this who has received a “sorry for the late response” from me is nodding their heads) 2. Anything that requires me to sit down at a desk. Or frankly, still. Funny story - I was a receptionist at an Accountancy firm in my year between school and uni and apparently a client complained once that the receptionist sounded unenthused and partially dead - LOL!! I lasted eight weeks. 3. Again, emails. 4.Excel spreadsheets. 5.Lists. 6. Planning/scheduling…..to be honest the list could go on but basically what I am trying to convey is that the computer, patient, organised and administrative side of business: is not my strong suit. I’ve spent 12 years of my working life running and avoiding the desk dragon. After my accountancy receptionist fail I worked at gyms and then became a PE teacher because we run around all day. I have never imagined a work life sitting down. And that now must be faced in order to pull off the hugeness of Pasta Club at Home.
If I was to describe me at a desk, I would say it's partly the patience of a three year old, the attention span of a six year old, the snack needs and CONSISTENT toilet breaks of a nine year old, and then you throw a bitchy fifteen year old gal in a Period 6 Friday IT Class and yep THATS ME! I have fantastic strengths that I play towards for most of my life, but sometimes life gives you a challenge and you must do nothing but tackle it. I have read enough books and listened to enough Podcasts to know that running TOWARDS what scares you the most, is in fact where the most learning is to be done. And the most growth. And that is the shit that I am here for. It’s not all fun and it was never meant to be, but I have’t been challenged in a long time. And I chose this. And people have actually purchased packs. So - PULL IT TOGETHER SIS!
The launch of Pasta Club coincided with the same weekend we took in hundreds of orders from the online store. Thankfully my ANGEL retail/logistics queen Chelsea stepped in to help manage the shop - whilst I focused on Pasta Club. Between you and me, she was handed a-giant-tangled-mess-of-confusing-store-stuff that had been wholeheartedly created by me. She bloody untangled it, organised it, and elevated it. Never be too proud to ask for help in areas you know nothing about. And Chelsea….BLESS YOU, dead I would be without you!
Whilst Chels untangled, I spent LITERALLY 7 days straight on my computer, and at my desk. I would wake and walk Sprout, and then sit down for a good eight - ten hours of absolute torture. One Spreadsheet would take me a whole day, food ordering was a day, one email list to Pasta Club members could leave me frazzled for several hours and lets not EVEN BEGIN to discuss me planning the delivery routes. I am sure you can imagine. My parents and friends thought I may have died due to the many unanswered text messages and calls. And when they heard that I was on a computer and at a desk, they quietly backed away. They know how hard this stuff is for me, and they perfectly reminded me: “Oh darl, you’ve done bigger things before. Could do this with your eyes closed! I have complete faith that you will not only pull it off, but it will be a success.” Man I love ‘pump up the tyres’ friends.
My desire to ensure that all sixty members of Pasta Club were left 500% satisfied, meant I had to face my biggest challenge: organisation. I had to be EXTRA organised. Not semi, or even normal organised. BIG TIME ORGANISED. My fear of disappointing Pasta Club members meant that I had to face the desk, the computer, the patience, the spreadsheets, the emails: all of it. And to those thinking it: yes - I could have hired someone to do it all from the start. OF COURSE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE EASIEST DECISION HEY RODNEY!? But, I also know that any good business owner is across initially all the processes, ESPECIALLY the shitty ones. It’s the quickest way to know what you don’t want to be doing. Which leads you closer to what you do want to be doing.
To END the middle section, I nearly head butted my computer 18 times and it was easily the most stressful days of my entire working life. My room is a mess, the house is a mess. I absolutely have grey hair now and this probably wasn’t the best time to starve the parasite I have. A diet that removed all of the foods (dairy, gluten, sugar, dairy) from my diet and turned me into a full blown psycho. But I did it. I did it all, on my own. I conquered a thing I ran from for so long, and it led me to the excited, masked and joyous faces of the people opening their doors to Pasta Club. And there it was. The reason I had started Pasta Club in the first place.
D Day
Do you guys remember in primary school when it was athletics day or cross country you’d get up early and nervous? Put your clothes on slowly, mentally prepare and plan out the execution of the many events you will be entering (and winning BY the way). You eat banana, cos, sustenance. And Mum said you should too. Well anyways that's how I felt last Friday morning. Although the Banana was replaced with coffee and I wasn’t slowing putting clothes on - I was vigorously shaking the printer and yelling FUCCCKKK YOUUUU. YOU BITCH!! Confirmed several times: I like to scream profanities at objects that don’t work to release frustration. My Dad Peter, is the same.
Wow. How to begin a day.
SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
We blasted some Rihanna, pump ourselves up on the way over to the assembly point at FireCracker HQ. When we got there it was ON, straight into it. And I love that. I thrive off that really buzzing, busy and task orientated environment that's creative and also quite logical in steps. Even BETTER when surrounded by women, and great women at that. We were a ten-chick working team and we could have taken on the world. I was definitely living out my inner “First Wives Club” & “Sister Act” female empowered working scene ya know! It was great! Aside from it being great in that way, it was also incredibly stressful in other ways, lots of things to worry about. Nonetheless I held my cool: apparently I looked really calm. HA HA HA. That's hularious. Because I shit you not - I sat in stress the enttirreee day. I just needed to pull off the first one, and then I would be fine. Internally I felt as though I was preparing the last meals for the prisoners on death row, THE PRESSURE WAS HUGE. May I remind you, this pressure is all created by me. I’ve already experienced how LOVELY you all are, and understanding. If a tub of hazelnuts was missed, Plant Mama was not going to get sued. It will be okay. And that my friends is the thought process that must take over in order to proceed. Anything that came our way, we could handle. And even if I didn’t believe myself, I could certainly pretend.
We finished packing them all. Right before we left with our delivery, a ‘Pick Up’ customer arrived, and I was dying over experiencing the first reaction. And it was a cup overflowing with DELIGHT, joy and excitement. A very happy customer. The perfect little present to send me on my way. Not before I (of course) knock an entire Pasta pack open into the wet gutter. But I know myself. So we have FOUR extras.
Sian and I packed the van and headed off on our delivery route, I drove - she delivers, which made it a lot easier. I literally would have been delivering until Monday if I was on my own. My friend Sal was up at stop 3, and as I opened my heavy car door I turned around to grab something and slammed my fingers in between the door. Yep. FUCKING OUCHIE. I did that internal pain scream where you cannot breath and you want to kick something. Yeah, that pain. Then shook it off and greeted Sal like nothing had happened, although the finger was smooshed, purple and it was radiating pain. Ah well - continue on. By around stop 6 we had to get petrol. Whilst filling that tank I was pondering obviously something very important, but not paying attention to something very important. We’ll come back to this later (LOL CANT WAIT). Anyhoo by stop 12 we reach Lucy from The Design Files in Fitzroy. I turn the car off, deliver, brief chinwag. We get back into the van, and it doesn’t start….multiple times. Dead set, I would pay $1000 to see what my face would have looked like at this point. I told it to “fucking start!!!” and, it did. We were off, tooting and cheering as Lucy and her hubby stood in the garage in shared fits of laughter with us!!
Ugghhhh, such a relief to be continuing on. We dropped the final pasta box off and I immediately called all delivery partners and Pick Up chicks to wait for an impending story of doom that someone just hadn't told me, yet. Nothing. All parties happy, all packages collected or delivered (with extras leftover) and no major hiccups. In fact by the last delivery, the compliments, praise and love was already rolling in to our inbox and our Instagram. SIGH OF RELIEF.
When we finished and met at the studio, my co-pilot Chelsea and I jumped and cheered and hugged and screamed “we fuckinnnnggg did it” and TRULY felt every moment of accomplishment and joy in the entire experience. This was quickly burst when we returned to my car to unload and realised it was again not starting at all, and this time it wasn’t coming back on. Flash forward to a tow truck, mechanic, research and fees. Turns out that great thought I was having at the petrol gauge meant I was filing my van with PETROL when it should have been DIESEL. Fml. Lets just say not an easy or low cost problem to fix but hey, at least if one bad thing was going to happen it was to me and not to the spaghetti lovers of Melbourne.
We did a big fat scary thing. It might not be your big fat scary thing, but it was mine. And on the other side of my tortuous-computer-death-camp, was an experience of connection that I am yet to found, felt or have seen in my life. Especially at a time like now in Melbourne, where human connection is as rare as our new experiences. I put my little throbbing heart and soul into this little project (as did others), and it was sooooooooooo satisfying to be able to deliver those packs, and to receive my reward by witnessing how the packs were bringing out the joy in others during a week where I could truly feel that we are well and truly…over it.
If you ordered Pasta Club last Friday, thank you for being the first and trusting us! You helped pay fifteen people/businesses. To the future Pasta Club at Home goers... we welcome you with open arms!
I gained a sensation of satisfaction I haven’t felt in a whole while, only by facing the thing that scared me the most. A reminder that it’s part of the human experience to be faced with obstacles, and the decision to either stay back or move forward will dictate what you get served in return. I encourage you all to consider running towards the things you turn away from, and to walk blindly confident in your ability to pull it off. And if you can’t feel that right now, just pretend in the meantime. It’s what we all do!
I hope the disco found you today!!!!
Love always
P Mami xxx
Photos captured by yours truly, on film camera.
