Today we’d like to introduce you to Misty Sexton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to Baltimore in 2006 with a biology degree. I failed to get a job at Johns Hopkins, and was running out of money so I took an office job at a heating oil company in Columbia. I loved the logistics and the company, but did not love retail. There was a sister company that focused on wholesale petroleum distribution, so I moved to that side. I really found my niche here. I loved the work, the people, and I was quite good at it. After about 10 years, the elderly owner passed away and his wife sold the company to an enormous corporation. By this time I had developed a very strong, diverse skill set crossing areas from supply contracts with refiners to pump and tank repair. Corporations aren’t generally in need of such a wide range of capabilities, and the environment just was not a good fit for my bold, outspoken personality. Still, I loved my customer base and didn’t want to give up. I took advantage of “corporate synergy” and the lighter workload and went to grad school, finishing my MBA in 2018. I was really not happy with the job anymore. Several of my colleagues and competitors offered to hire me, which was an honor. These companies were all very good at what they do! But most are family owned, and I saw a very low ceiling. I decided to launch out on my own and started Standard Petroleum Logistics that summer. I asked for support from those competitors and they graciously gave it, becoming reliable partners as I grew my business. Now, eight years later I’ve built an amazing and dedicated team that supported my dream of creating the job I wanted. We do work we’re proud of. We’re experts in our field, our service is second to none, we work hard with the utmost integrity and we still manage to laugh often. It’s been a recipe for success. We continue to grow leaps and bounds year over year. We sell gasoline, diesel, heating oil, kerosene, propane and biofuels. We perform tank inspections and repairs. We serve customers ranging from a small business with a small tank to government research facilities to publicly traded corporations who consume millions of gallons per year.
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?
Being a girl in the oil business is quite the challenge. There are some women in sales positions, and plenty of women in accounting positions, but very few in management or legitimate ownership positions. I can’t say I’ve been treated unfairly, but I have certainly not been invited to the table or events as frequently as male colleagues. I often understand their position. It’s hard to tell your wife you’re taking another woman out to dinner. It certainly doesn’t help that I’m not really a sports fan and can’t golf!
I also have to face a lot of ‘fakes.’ We are a bonafide woman-owned business, and we often compete with wives of owners who do not know the difference between gasoline and kerosene. Men will put give their wives 51% ownership and become certified woman-owned business. The situation is so prevalent, I am often asked if my husband or father owns the company.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We specialize in downstream petroleum wholesale distribution. We supply gasoline, diesel, heating oil, kerosene, propane, biofuels and more to businesses and government. We are known for our ability to solve complex problems, and our expertise in fuel quality and logistics. We also write a weekly newsletter about the oil industry that has more than 5400 weekly subscribers and is growing! (It’s called The Distillate and is available on Substack). Perhaps the thing I’m most proud of is my team. I brought in young people, tied them to my side and trained them night and day to create experts. I give them autonomy and they are well known and respected in the industry. Collectively we care about our customers and want to make their fuel systems work for them. We want to be the resource for all things fuel, from fair pricing to reliable delivery to transparent invoicing, we want to be the company you call.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’m pretty feisty by nature. Learning that I do not need to take up every last fight has really freed up my energy to focus on things more beneficial. We don’t have to ruminate over every lost bid or sale. We can move on and try harder next time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://standardpetroleumlogistics.com
- Other: https://the-distillate.com
