Apr 12, 2021

Rossella Petta

Boss Babe: Rossella Petta

Company: The Pasta Magazine

Tell me a bit about your business.

The Pasta Magazine it’s my latest project and it wants to bring together all the Pasta-Lovers in one community sharing recipes (of course), highlighting small businesses and projects that work with or around pasta, women in the pasta industry, Pasta Art & Design and much more!

What made you decide to start it?

I was the owner of Bleach Please, an alternative salon in the heart of Edinburgh. We opened in 2019 but unfortunately, after only one year of trading, we had to close our doors due COVID-19. So with a lot of time in my hands I have decided to re-invent myself starting from my passion: pasta! So with the help of my partner who’s a photographer (Nathan Hinze) and my bestie for the Graphic Design side of it (Aimee Nicole) I’ve gained confidence and I believed this could really be a thing so I went for it! I’ve started studying Digital Marketing online to fill some of the gaps in my skills and pushed my social media content & strategy to a professional level.

What’s a typical day/week like in your shoes?

My typical day is waking up and having a nice cup of hot water and lemon or a coffee. Then I start checking my Social Media and plan some content. When lunch comes I start cooking (I love cooking!) for my partner and myself while I call my mum for a quick chat. The afternoon is spent between creating social media content, interviews to relevant characters I want to involve in the magazine followed, Clubhouse calls to do some networking and by the end of the day I love to go for a walk. The evening is all about a nice dinner followed by more work or Netflix and chill!

Have you encountered any hiccups along the way?

Yes, I have obviously had some hiccups along the way. The website is the main problem for me at the moment since I don’t have the skills to do much on it so sometimes I feel stuck. But luckily I have someone helping me on this side too hopefully soon (still my gal Aimee).

Another problem I have been experiencing is time-management having too many things to do and not enough time to do it! Especially during lockdown I have been having very productive days but other days I’ve been feeling very unmotivated which didn’t help with my project. But I feel more positive days are coming maybe cause of the sun and the days being longer!

How do you stay motivated?

My motivation comes generally from my passion for food, so I love to read about pasta, recipes, ingredients, chefs and basically everything food related. I come from 10 years experience in the hospitality industry so food & drink has always been an industry close to my heart. My biggest inspiration is an Italian Chef called Massimo Bottura, I highly recommend his book “Bread is Gold”. What he does with food and through food is just unique.

What’s your main marketing took/social media platform? Are there any you want to try out that you haven’t had a chance to yet?

I love Instagram! Instagram is my main platform at the moment. I have a Facebook page but I feel like it's is dying a bit. I have recently approved TikTok for food-only-videos but I’m still learning! I’ve found Clubhouse very useful and I’ve been using it a lot recently to make more connections and meet people from the industry and it really works!

What’s next for your business?

What’s next? Who knows! I’ve just done a collaboration with Pasta Garofalo a very well know pasta brand and I hope to collaborate with many more brands soon! I like to keep connected to my country (Italy) but at the same time I won’t exclude anything. The project is still young and I can see it’s potential to bring big things for the future!

Do you have any advice for other women looking to start their own business?

To all the women who have an idea, a concept, a business idea or just the feeling of doing something 'on your own': DO IT! There’s no better feeling than being your own boss: managing your time and space doing what you like. You know the saying by Marc Anthony: “Do a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”, this is my motto.

What do you do to relax?

My perfect way to relax is a bath with music on the background (90s hip hop usually) and a glass of wine. That’ll do for me!

And lastly, what did you have for breakfast?

Hot water and lemon 🍋 makes me feel at home since I’m originally from a small village in the south of Italy called Rocca Imperiale - Calabria and it’s the Village of Lemons and Poetry!

Thanks so much Rossella! Makes me want a bowl of pasta NOW! Make sure you give Rossella's Instagram page a follow to keep up to date on when the launch will be for the highly anticipated magazine @thepastamagazine. x