We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kameel Gaines a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kameel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

We all talk about how taking risks is a part of doing or running a business. But they don’t tell you how to calculate the risk to maximize results. Typically it is done by trial and error.

I do believe in taking risks, but they must be thought out.

Rig on Wheels is a freight broker and truck driver recruitment agency. The core of what we do is find Class A CDL drivers their ideal job. ROW has a recruitment team in the US and a recruitment team in India. Both of them recruit American drivers to drive for American companies.

Creating a team in India was a risky business. Rig On Wheels is the first American company to have a team of recruiters in India. So people continue to call me Kameel E, Gaines, a pioneer in the business. At first, I just wanted a recruitment coordinator. But quickly realized this was a great business opportunity that created jobs in the US and India.

The risk comes with great reward; yes, it is a lot of work. But very rewarding and fulfilling.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I am Kameel Gaines, Rig On Wheels Broker & Recruitment Services’ CEO. Been in sales and Recruitment for over 20 years. And in the trucking industry for more than 12 years. I started Rig On Wheels in 2010. It started the way most entrepreneurs start, basically from need. I got laid off. I found myself in a position of what now. I was not new to entrepreneurship, so I focused on a skill I was strong in Recruitment. Having a solid sales and recruitment background led me to need a niche. I used to tell people that I chose Trucking, but now I know Trucking chose me. Rig On Wheels provides Class A Truck Driver broker and recruitment services. Focusing on solid relationships with our clients (shippers, trucking companies, and drivers) sets us apart. Many people say that it’s a cliche nowadays; however, retention is paramount in our business. Sales and Recruitment are what we do. But retaining drivers in the logistics industry is what drives our passion. So we strive to keep drivers in the industry.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

When I think of a near-death moment with Rig On Wheels, I genuinely think of the pandemic and when it started in 2020. So many driving recruitment agencies are not alive anymore; they literally died. So I thought it was going to be a near-death experience for us. It was unknown. The unknown was undoubtedly the worst, so we literally went back to the basics. Because back when I first started, nothing was going on because I was still in training. I was still training myself on the business. Nothing was going on because I didn’t have any leads, I didn’t know what to do and where to start, so it was literally the same thing. So that’s when I sat down and wrote out foundational elements going back to the pure basics. Before any job was created, before any post any advertisement. I went back to what I could control, a solid foundational recruitment plan that I wrote.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The big pivot was during the pandemic of 2020 and all of the unknowns that was going on. That’s when I had to go back to the basics, as I said earlier, and I had to Pivot. Okay, I had to think about what we stood for and focus on that. Diving deep into the nurturing and support I was giving the drivers for over ten years. What I did daily; was try to keep the drivers in the industry. Support and listen to their needs and wants. I have always wanted to give back because the trucking industry gave me so much. Supporting the drivers meant helping the drivers with the trucking lifestyle that was not taught in the CDL schools. Lifestyle challenges like:

Passing their DOT physicals
Budgeting for living on the road
Choosing wise entertainment
Cooking on the truck and making smart food choices at the truck stops

Strategizing their career path is always a big one. That is part of knowing the ideal job for the desired career path. These are not solutions that are taught in trucking schools. But all are those types of things needed to survive the road. Trucking is not just a career, but it is also a lifestyle. So that’s how we pivoted and started the CDL Partnering program.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rigonwheels.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rigonwheels/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RigOnWheels
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rig-on-wheels-llc
• Youtube: https://www.rigonwheels.com/?wix-vod-comp-id=comp-l2p5u7t2
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rig_on_wheels