Cameron Davies is president and CEO of Cruising Kitchens, “the world’s largest custom mobile business fabricator.” The company builds “custom high-end mobile kitchens and businesses” for clients all over the world, not just the United States. Their clients include customers from countries like Kuwait and Dubai.
At Cruising Kitchens, Cameron Davies ensures that the company builds every truck according to the client’s “needs, brand and vision.” Every truck is completely customized to these three specifications, and the company also “owns the whole process from acquiring the truck to installing the vinyl wrap.” At the company, multiple departments collaborate to create a signature track that every customer would be satisfied with. They also employ an “in house graphic design, marketing, photography/videography, and social media planning” team to help out their clients with everything they need to get their business off the ground.
Cameron Davies ensures his clients that they can “expect a complete open door policy.” They can even drop by the shop and tour the build so they can see their truck as it’s currently being made. They can also view “daily photos and virtual tours of their build.”
Alongside building trucks, Cameron Davies and Cruising Kitchens also provide “free consulting to anyone interested in the Mobile Vending Industry.” As industry leaders, the company wants to “help guide the world into the Future of Mobile Vending.”
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Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better, can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started?
Cameron Davies: I graduated high school in 1999, went to Baylor University for a couple years, and had more fun than did school. I came back to San Antonio, and started in the airplane upholstery world, and eventually transitioned in building custom cars. From there, I started doing audio visual packages and started doing food trucks for a business in New Braunfels. I taught myself how to do full trucks about a decade ago and now we are the largest food truck manufacturer in the world.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you let us into some of the hardships you faced starting your business? Did you ever consider giving up, or did you always want to keep going?
Cameron Davies: I lost everything building custom cars, a lot of people couldn’t afford their builds. The first guy I started building food trucks for stiffed me and I almost gave up. I couldn’t pay the rent, when we found out we were pregnant with my now 10-year-old daughter Kenadee I had to borrow money from my wife’s family to make ends meet. I decided to build food trucks, and everybody said I was crazy. I said I was going to build more food trucks than anyone else in the world and now 10 years later we do. You’ve just got believe in yourself and work hard. As a business owner there’s no such thing as a 40-hour work week. I’ve worked almost 100 hours a week non-stop. I built a food park called Boardwalk on Bulverde that has gotten nationwide recognition. From there people wanted me to build food trucks based on the popularity of the park. Back then we were 90% mom and pop shops, but today we’re 90% corporate driven. In the midst of the pandemic especially, most companies realize they need mobile assets for more than just marketing, they can be for profit and even be franchised.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you tell us a funny mistake you made when you first started, and a lesson you learned from that mistake?
Cameron Davies: I actually had a client in our shop, and we had a mechanic that was kind of a loose cannon. We were draining the fuel system, and we were upstairs watching from my office. Reese had a torch and the frame caught fire and blew up the side of the truck, and with the client being there it was definitely kind of awkward. I knew then safety has to come first. I had the client leave the building and we rebuild the side of his van, it cost a lot of money, but it was definitely one of the more funny and scary experiences at the shop.
Jerome Knyszewski: Based on your experience and success, what are the 5 most important things you should know in order to lead a company from good to great?
Cameron Davies: Faith, Family, Charity, Hustle, Innovation.
Jerome Knyszewski: Extensive research suggests that purpose driven businesses are more successful in many different areas. Can you help articulate why businesses should consider becoming a purpose driven business or consider having a social impact in their community?
Cameron Davies: You’ve got to have purpose. If you don’t have purpose, you don’t have goals or anything to work towards, you’re going to get stagnant and just get by. If you have purpose you’re going to strive to be the best. I don’t look at what other companies have done. We’re the pioneer and we’ve set the standard in the industry. If you can’t take your success and put it on a platform to help, why do it? I give more money than I make a year thru charitable assets. You have to take your success and do good with it. I spend a lot of time helping people.
Jerome Knyszewski: The main way to increase conversion rate is to create a trusted and beloved brand. Can you share a few ways that your business has earned that reputation?
Cameron Davies: We build the mobile units on the road. Warranty is number 1, you can’t take people’s money and never speak to them again. We’re set up for continued success and relationships with clients so all of our clients we have repeat builds from and we become their sole vendor. Repeat clients is what keeps companies in business.
Great customer service and great customer experience are essential in building a beloved brand and be successful in general. In your experience, what are a few things a business leader should know to create a wow customer experience.
We control the entire process, from conceptual drawings, to fabrication and implementation. We provide customers with maintenance manuals and we have warranty systems put in place. We answer questions and assist with warranty.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!