To celebrate Women’s History Month during the month of March, we’re shining a spotlight on women in transportation who are leading the way for other women in the industry. This blog is all about Elizabeth Gaines, owner and founder of Dallas-based E-Lane Freight Services, an asset-based intermodal freight brokerage and dispatch company. Gaines started her journey in the transportation industry in 2019 following stints as a clothing boutique owner and insurance claims adjuster. Gaines always had an entrepreneurial spirit and knew for years that she wanted to own her own business.
Read on to learn more about Gaines’s professional journey in transportation and why she loves what she does.
On Becoming a Freight Broker
“I always knew I wanted to work for myself, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Gaines said. “In 2019, I was in between jobs and just trying to find out what my passion was. When I tapped into trucking, it was due to my brother, Xavier, mentioning it. My husband, Andrei, also suggested that I become a dispatcher. I felt like these were signs and I started researching becoming a broker. I ended up taking a broker class and that’s basically how I started. I just went from there. After that, I took a dispatch course and started to scale up. I’ve been running my business full time since and it’s just been going up from there.”
According to Gaines, her dispatcher training really got her foot in the door of the industry because it taught her about drivers’ needs, equipment types, and all about trucking and transportation.
“I tell people all the time that dispatch is a good way to get into the industry if you’re new to transportation,” Gaines shared. “Training and working as a dispatcher provides you with so much education. Even if you’re working for a company or someone else, dispatching will show you basically everything you need to know for each niche in transportation.”
What Gaines Loves About Her Work
“This is a second chance industry,” Gaines explained. “Where I come from, a lot of people don’t have diplomas and some people are felons. Everybody is different and you’re able to give people a second chance, which is my main goal. I want to show young men and women that they can get a CDL and do multiple things in this industry. College isn’t for everyone and some people make mistakes as they’re growing up, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve a chance to make good money or find something that they want to do just because of their past. I love that about the industry. This is a second chance industry and you’ll get a second chance working with me. I’ve also noticed a lot more women coming into transportation and making it a more diverse industry. I feel like women are kind of leading the show in logistics right now.”
To learn more about Gaines, visit https://e-lanefreightservices.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Check out our previous Women’s History Month feature, “Female Leaders in Transportation: Lynette Mathis, Vice President of the Bennett Family of Companies.”
