Q&A with our CEO and Founder, Laurie Buckle

To celebrate Small Business Saturday, we sat down with Laurie Buckle, our CEO and founder for a quick Q&A! She answered a few fun questions about running her own business, including her inspiration behind the name CookIt Media and her go-to power lunch.

What inspired you to start your own business?

Laurie: Entrepreneurs run in my family, and in some ways I’d always thought of my corporate roles as being my “own business.” I worked in food magazines, but it was pretty clear that the shift to digital was coming. So I set out to better understand food bloggers and help them appreciate their value as content creators. That idea turned into a consulting business, which turned into a talent agency, and here we are today almost eight years later!

How did you choose the name CookIt Media?

Laurie: Working in food, the ultimate goal has always been to get your reader or follower into the kitchen, to get them cooking. That’s where the food is the most delicious, the healthiest and the most fun. Just cook it – and everything good will come from there.

What has been the greatest memory from this whole journey of owning your business?

Laurie: That time we earned a spot on the Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing companies. I still have the Champagne cork!

If you could speak to your younger self, just starting out, what advice would you give her?

Laurie: Let your enthusiasm show! When you love what you’re doing and you’re working to convince someone to back your idea, be your real can’t-stop-me-now self!

If you weren’t running your business, what would you do?

Laurie: Honestly, I can’t imagine doing anything else!

What’s been the most rewarding part of running CookIt? The most challenging?

Laurie: There’s really only one answer to both of those questions: Riding the wave that is this always-changing, potential-packed, never-dull industry!

What is your go-to work lunch?

Laurie: Usually a salad. I make a batch of dressing every week, then use some version of my two salad formulas: greens, avocado, tomato, cheese, nuts, crunch (like tortilla chips) or greens, fruit (apples, berries), cheese, nuts, crunch (croutons, crackers). I’m big on crunch.

What are you reading, watching, and/or listening to right now to help you wind down at the end of the day?

Laurie: Watching Fleishman is in Trouble (love Taffy Brodesser-Ackner so much); reading Horse; listening to Omar Apollo and the WIIM podcast.