Conversations with Cj Volkmann

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cj Volkmann

Hi CJ, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started posting on youtube to help out our oldest son. He was in film classes in high school, and we though filming me would help him set up a portfolio to send to colleges when he applied for film school.

As most teenagers do, he got busy, maybe lost some interest, and I was left to do the youtube channel on my own. I enjoyed it, so I learned how to film, edit, light, sound, etc… all by myself and keep going on the channel as a hobby.

At some point it became a side hustle to my corporate gig. I was making some money off of the channel and I was still enjoying the process.

In June of 2023 I was laid off from my corporate gig in an industry I had been in for over 25 years. After much discussion with my wife, I decided to go full time on my youtube and content creation.

I’ve spent over a year doing full time cooking content on all socials, not just youtube. I’ve managed to grow a decent following on all my social medias and will continue to keep building on it.

My new goal every year is to make it as a content creator and not go back to my corporate world.

I’m a 48 year old, husband and father of 5 kids. And it blows my mind every time I tell someone that I’m a youtuber.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
More or less it’s been pretty smooth for me on this. It’s just been a grind to grow my brand over the years. I’m going on my 7th year doing cooking content, it’s not where I want it to be, but I’ll get it there someday.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I basically make video recipes for the world to use. I’m known for easy, comfort food recipes. I’ve also written 10 ecookbooks over the years. I’m pretty proud of that.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Cooking for people is my happy place. Food brings joy to people. And I enjoy seeing people being happy while eating my dishes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cookingwithcj.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_cookingwithcj
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookingwithcjchannel
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cookingwithcj

Image Credits
n/a