The Spaghetti Theory: Starting Something New
Have you ever heard the phrase, “throwing spaghetti at the wall?” For those unfamiliar, it means trying many different tactics to achieve your goal and seeing what sticks (akin to which strand of spaghetti sticks to the wall). That’s what I’ve been doing for about a year and a half now.
When I quit my full-time marketing job back in early 2023, I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do. I knew I enjoyed wellness coaching part-time, something I had been doing for almost a year at the time, and I knew I wanted to become a certified yoga teacher. But above all else, I sought freedom and flexibility—freedom to travel and explore the world more and flexibility to have more say in when and how I chose to work.
Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall: My Trials and Errors
I say I’ve been throwing spaghetti at a wall for quite some time now because that’s what the past couple of years have felt like. Since 2021, I’ve been trying many different, sometimes very challenging things to develop myself and my business. I moved out of my New York City apartment to start traveling and working remotely, becoming a digital nomad and constantly moving from place to place. I quit my full-time job to create time and space to explore other opportunities and possibilities. I invested over $7,000 in a business program to help grow and scale my coaching business organically. I posted on social media five days a week for six months straight, which taught me a lot but left me feeling exhausted by the end of the week. For a time, I applied to many part-time and remote marketing jobs, landing none. I even applied to full-time remote jobs that felt more aligned with my vision and aspirations. Each of these attempts to get closer to freedom and flexibility taught me something.
Earlier this year, I started applying for yoga teaching jobs, and slowly but surely, these opportunities began to flow with much less effort. Nearly every opportunity to teach yoga came through authentic connections, networking, and community engagement. A few months after these conversations began, I found myself teaching 12+ yoga classes a week in the Wilmington, Delaware area, partnering with the Central YMCA, Fly Yogi and Petite Yogi (both of which work to bring yoga classes to local schools where I teach pre-K and up), and even forging a partnership with Constitution Yards to host weekly outdoor yoga classes.
These experiences teaching yoga, as well as the experiences I’ve had since starting my wellness coaching business, have connected me with amazing people, other entrepreneurs, and unique opportunities. They have also taught me so much about myself. I never thought I’d teach yoga to kids, but since doing it, I’ve felt an immense sense of purpose and impact in my work—even though some days are still difficult, the good days far outweigh the challenging ones. I’ve learned what it takes to start something from scratch, which can be extremely intimidating but totally worth it and rewarding in the end. And, I’ve learned that sometimes you just need to throw spaghetti at the wall until one strand sticks to know what is meant for you.
The Reality of the Spaghetti Theory
But let me tell you something about this theory of throwing spaghetti at the wall. Ninety percent of the time, the spaghetti will not stick. You will fail. You will be rejected. People will judge you or question your decisions. And I can assure you that everything will not work exactly how you planned it out in your mind. There will be times that simply suck. I won’t lie about that. But the more you push through the discomfort, the easier it gets to move forward and try something new—to attempt a new tactic—to throw a new strand on the wall.
And then, eventually, 10% of the time, strands start to stick. You begin to see all your efforts pay off, usually in a way you least expected. There’s something very satisfying about knowing that even when things got tough, you pushed through, and if you hadn’t, you might not have reached this beautiful place where you are now.
Whether you want to open your own business, start a club, plan an event, or whatever it may be, remember it will take time and effort for things to run smoothly. It will not happen overnight. But if you are determined to make it happen, you will succeed. There is no doubt about that. Though there may be bumps in the road, you will find a way to make it past them.
Behind the Scenes: The Real Work
Throughout this blog, you’ll see photos from my yoga class at Constitution Yards. Now, some of you might be looking at these photos thinking, “Wow, she has had such a great turnout for her classes. I don’t know how I could get that many people to come to my [insert business idea, club, event, or other].” But here’s what you don’t see in these photos:
The months of researching, emailing, calling, and networking to find a quality event space that aligned with my vision and was within my budget. I first started chatting with local parks in my area, and found out that getting a permit to teach in the parks costs anywhere between $200-450 per event. Luckily, I was able to host where I am now at no cost, as this space prides itself on creating opportunities for the community to interact and connect.
The months of community engagement and weeks of promotion it took to find people interested in coming to a class like this. Without this community, I would not have had such a large reach for my first class, and I would not have these amazing photos by Erin Cramer to document the experience.
The weeks of planning, preparation, and sequence-building it took for me to get to a place where I could teach off-book and felt comfortable leading a class in an outdoor space with numerous distractions.
And there are many more things, like overcoming insecurities, building confidence, and healing my own wounds with anxiety and perfectionism, that I think of as an afterthought at this point—all of which I needed to work on to get to the photos you see here.
Taking the First Step
But when you boil it down: what does it really take to start something from scratch?
If you ask me, it's one small step into the unknown—one decision to do something different than you have before. From there, you’ll take another small step and another until you find yourself somewhere so wildly different from where you started. The hard part isn’t taking that first step. Anyone can take the first step. What’s difficult is staying consistent, continuing to move forward despite the fear or anxiety that comes up. You must be willing to lean into that discomfort because this is where you will grow and evolve the most.
If you asked me in October 2021, when I moved out of my apartment in NYC, where I would be in June 2024, I certainly would not have guessed this at all. I would have been so very far off. But I love how far I’ve come and where I am today—even if some days, I don’t always appreciate the journey as much as I’d like to.
So, if you want to start something new—no matter what it is—I ask you now, what one small step will you take today?
If you are interested in attending my weekly yoga classes or looking for a coach to help you with goal setting and taking those steps forward, do not hesitate to reach out to me through email or on Instagram. My inbox is always open!