Kenya Langford | GeaVance Energi Solutions | Veterans Growing America

In this episode of the Veterans Growing America Podcast, co-hosts Coach R.L. Simmons and Donnell Johns sit down with Kenya Langford, a trailblazing Army veteran and the Founder & CEO of GeaVance Energi Solutions.

From growing up in a small South Carolina town to becoming a petroleum supply specialist in the U.S. Army—and now leading innovative energy solutions globally—Kenya shares her incredible entrepreneurial journey. Discover how she transitioned from military service to managing aviation fuel terminals and building her own energy company that blends traditional and renewable solutions.

 Topics Covered:

• Kenya’s early motivations for entrepreneurship
• Breaking into the energy sector as a veteran
• Building infrastructure for EVs, solar, and biofuels
• Navigating challenges in funding, time management, and business alignment
• Why solar power and energy independence matter more than ever
• Advice for new entrepreneurs entering the energy space

 Kenya’s Business Superpower? Vision. Her forward-thinking leadership is shaping the future of energy with innovation, environmental awareness, and global strategy. Tune in to hear Kenya’s perspective on:

• Why networking with purpose matters
• The importance of veteran business communities like VGA
• How to stay rooted in your values while scaling your mission

 Connect with Kenya Langford on LinkedIn Explore more veteran-owned businesses at: www.veteransgrowingamerica.com Follow & Subscribe to stay updated on inspiring veteran entrepreneurs building wealth, impact, and legacy.

#VeteransGrowingAmerica #KenyaLangford #GeaVanceEnergiSolutions #VeteranEntrepreneur #CleanEnergy #MilitaryToCEO #VeteranPodcast #SolarPower #EVInfrastructure #VGApodcast #YourMoneyGOAT #CoachRLSimmons #DonnellJohns #WomenInEnergy #VeteransInBusiness

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Veterans Growing America podcast. I am your co-host, Coach Ariel Simmons. I am here with my illustrious co-host, Donnell Johns, and we have another special guest for you today. We have Miss Kenya Langford. She is the founder and CEO of GADvanced Energy Solutions, and she is also an Army veteran. Welcome to the show, young lady.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Thank you all for having me. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

We're happy to have you. So, Kenya, I know you, but we want to make sure that the audience know you. Can you talk a little bit about yourself and your military experience and background?

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Uh, yeah. So let me see where I can start. Um, so I'm not gonna go back into the day, but I'm originally from South Carolina, a small country town which shaped my future. Um, but I guess it's my army background. Um, I went into the Army straight out of high school. So I was 17 when I signed the papers. Um, I needed to have a waiver to get in. Um, and I made my parents sign the papers because I said, I'm not staying here. I'm I'm I'm ready to go. So um went straight out of high school, um, left like two weeks after I graduate, graduated. Um, trying to think, maybe it was less than that. Uh actually got sent to train and maybe 30 minutes, 30, 40 minutes down the road, Fort Jackson. Well, I guess they changed the name now. So you can imagine what training was like for me. I'm looking at the interstate every time we're going on rock marches, trying to figure out if I can just go outside of the gate and go back home. Um uh but I was a petroleum supply specialist. Um, that was my job in the Army of Station and Louisiana, which um was an interesting um space. Um I only was able to do a short period of time just because I got an injury, but um I followed into my civilian career um the fuel world. So after I got out of the military um as a petroleum support specialist, um, I got hired in Virginia um at uh aviation fuel terminal um as an operator, started as entry level, um, quickly moved my way up to um supervisorslash assistant manager. They changed the title. Uh right after that, I got promoted. Maybe two years after that, I got promoted to a general manager um where I managed the aviation field terminal at BD BWI. So um all that within span of what, maybe a couple of years? Uh so I think, yeah, that's about me. Any any you was on there cooking.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Let me ask you this though. Although you say you had a short time um in service, do you think any part of that time influenced your uh journey into entrepreneurship? And if so, how?

SPEAKER_02 3:18

Um, I would say it contributed, but I don't think necessarily it was like, hey, now I want to be an entrepreneur, you know, because of the military. Um I think from before I left home, I always saw myself, you know, having some type of business. Um I think I had a whole plan. I was like, hey, I'm gonna go into the military, I'm gonna get the experience, drive trucks, you know, go do real estate. Oh, I had a big plan. Um, but I don't say that it, you know, the military say, yeah, I'm gonna be an entrepreneur just because of the military. I always had that vision to be an entrepreneur or a business owner.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

It's funny that you say that. Like, what was the thing that inspired you to be an entrepreneur? Was it a family member? Was it something that you saw on TV? Where did the big idea come from?

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Great question. Um, I definitely wouldn't say that it was related to any person. I think it was just, I don't know, like a self-motivation. I can't say where. I don't know if it was planted in me from when I was a little kid or what, but um, I just knew that I wanted to have a business. I think it was more so um, you know, the environment that I grew up in. Uh it wasn't a lot of job opportunities. It wasn't actually a lot of opportunities at all. Um, South Carolina, especially where I'm from, is like more of a retirement state. So the only way to thrive is driving trucks, um, doing something in healthcare, taking care of retirees. So I was like, I need to do something else to make sure that I'm secure. Um and also I saw my family how they were um living. And I was like, hey, I don't want to be living this way. I don't want to be surviving. I want to thrive. So what way can I do that? So I said the business is the next best thing, right? Um, because you can control, you can control your um, you know, your wealth and you know, your financial situation. Um you're not relying on a paycheck from someone when they the business can go out, you know, they can go out of business or they can say, hey, I'm gonna cut your check off or fire you tomorrow. So um I think it was, you know, making sure that I was set up for success and having that security.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

I mean, you say that now, but you know, we're in an environment right now where government shut down. Uh you gotta you you you gotta create a income on your own. Are you glad that this is something that you started?

SPEAKER_02 5:42

I'm definitely glad. Um yeah, I'm definitely glad. Because like I said, I mean, I've always I mean, even on the personal side, I'm like, man, I can't depend on anyone. Um, so I was like, I I got to have something so I can be secure.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Yeah, it's just something about that level of independence as an entrepreneur that really drives the passion, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Yeah. And I think also, um, you know, I talked a lot about security, but as I've grown, um, you know, became more seasoned, so put it that way, uh, I think it's also a space for creativity. Um, I think a lot of jobs, you know, they have their standards and references, which I which I appreciate, but I think, you know, in order to be your best um in anything, you know, you it has to have a level of creativity or allow room for you to be creative.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

So so now let's get into the business. Can you tell us a little bit about the business and its uh unique uh propos uh proposition?

SPEAKER_02 6:48

Okay, yeah. So the business name is uh the advanced energy solutions. Um, it was started um off the, you know, basically me wanting to, one, like I said, I wanted to have a business, um, but I always had a passion for the environmental in the energy space. Um, I didn't bring that up, you know, kind of going into my background, but even before I went into the military, I had a passion about the environment. And then I always had an interest in, hey man, why are we pulling oil and gas from other countries and so forth? So it's, you know, kind of, I guess fate lined me up to take that job in the in the military as a petroleum supply specialist because I had no intention of going in, you know, into the oil and gas or energy sector. Um, so in any case, and then every time I uh tried to leave the energy sector, uh, it kept pulling me back while I kept getting promotions. So I was like, man, it it must be meant for me to be here. So as time went along, um, I was like, man, you know, I guess this is the business for me. I I I want to be that one um, you know, making moves in the energy space on an international level. So my vision was always uh global, and it currently still is. Um so um in any case, uh, like I said, I was uh I managed aviation fuel um throughout my career, my civilian career, and I took an interest in you know how the fuel moved, how operations um took place and so forth. And I said, man, why can't I be the one to supply energy? Why can't I be the one to supply, you know, the natural gas to everyone's home? Why can't I be the one to bring this fuel into the airport and so forth? So that that inspired me. And then again, you know, it was the clean, of course, like I said, I care about the environment. Um, so I wanted to be able to bring clean energy solutions as well. Um also there were uh policies that were being pushed along, like, hey, let's move everybody towards EVs, let's move uh by 2030, or let's move every uh the whole industry um to sustainable aviation fuel by a certain time. And I'm like, man, is this realistic? How do they plan on doing this? It's like, you know, we can't flip a switch and make everybody go to EVs. And then even if we do, like, do we have the the infrastructure and the demand to do it? Um, not the demand, sorry, the um, do we have the capabilities of doing it, right? So that inspired me. I wanted to be the one to actually um develop the infrastructure um and to provide the solutions uh for it. So that's basically what my business is. Um, you know, I'm I'm looking to uh provide affordable, reliable, and innovative solutions, um, you know, and also thinking about meeting people where they are in the market. So that would be providing traditional energy to people and then helping them transition to cleaner energy.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

No, I think I think that's 100% needed, um, especially in today's environment. Uh what are some of the challenges that, you know, because entrepreneurship is the easiest thing that you can do. Um, you know, I'm being I'm I'm being I'm joking about that anyway. But as an entrepreneur, you know, what are some of the challenges that you face and how did you overcome those?

SPEAKER_02 10:09

That's a great question, because I'm you know, still overcoming them. Uh time, uh financials, of course, especially in this industry. Um energy. Uh as far as like um when I say energy, I'm talking about like, hey, you know, being able to keep pushing and working um towards it every day. Um yeah, I think those are the main things. Um and I think to your question is how it's overcome. I'm still working through it, but as far as time, I learned to just kind of not focus on balance but alignment. So if it doesn't feel right or if it doesn't align with values, or hey, if I'm feeling like I have extra energy to keep working past, you know, eight o'clock, um, then I would do it, not just cut myself off and say, yeah, six o'clock is time for me to cut off and shut down everything. Um, but and I have this extra energy to push for it. Um, I think another thing is knowing where to spend my time. Uh, when I first started in you know business and entrepreneurship, you know, a lot of people say, hey, join this networking group. Um, come over here, come over there, spend your money here. And I'm just like, I I did, I was one of those, like, yeah, I need to be everywhere, but you can't be everywhere. And at the same time, it doesn't make sense to be everywhere. Um, and you know, you're showing up everywhere, the people might not be the right, the right set of people to be around. It might just be more noise uh in your ear and in your space. Um, so I've learned to align myself um with the things that I feel um I need to be doing, um, align myself with the right communities and the people that align with um I've got my business values as well as my personal values. Um and as far as financials, uh, that's that's gonna continue to be a challenge. But we're working through it and just again surrounding myself with the right community and you know, kind of building business credit and so and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

So no, that's really good because that kind of leads me into my next question. If somebody was brand new and they wanted to get into the energy sector and they're just a brand new entrepreneur, um, what would be some advice that you would give them um to allow them to grow and maybe not even faster, but um grow without some of those same growing pains. Um, what advice would you give to them?

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Hmm. Good question. Um the energy space is broad. Um, you know, a lot of people just think renewable energy when they hear energy. So I would say kind of find a uh focus point, right? Don't just say, yeah, I'm gonna do everything in energy. I'm gonna I'm gonna sell solar panels, I'm gonna uh provide oil, I'm going to um, you know, go pull oil out the ground, I'm gonna do everything. Um, I would say find a focus point. Um, you know, learn about it. One of the things they say, learn before you earn. Um and if there's an opportunity to step your foot and just kind of start off in the space, um, you know, while as far as like while starting the business, I would say take that opportunity, um, find a mentor in the energy space. I was uh kind of blessed to when I um, you know, back in my civilian career um as a general manager, I had a bunch of uh, you know, senior people around me that kind of educated me on terminal operations and things of that nature. Um, and even to this day, I'm still working to find different mentors in different spaces. And at some, at some point, they also just flocking towards me, you know. So, and I think that's it it comes when you're aligned with your purpose. Um, but also I would say don't just put yourself there just because that's where the money is. Um, a lot of people hear energy, they hear oil and gas, and they think, oh, dollar signs, but um everything isn't gonna work out for you if that's not your purpose and you know it's not aligned with you who you are.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

So as you see yourself in this sector though, like do in like the next five or ten years, do you see yourself moving on or to anything different or basically establishing yourself where you are now and just continuing to grow?

SPEAKER_02 14:42

Um, as I told you, when every time I've tried to leave, I mean, I just keep getting pulled back. So it's uh it it's no way that I'm gonna be leaving. I'm just gonna be establishing myself um in the space. Um, you know, whether that be on one sector of energy um or another sector, it'll just be mastering my craft and you know in this space and continue to learn how uh to make things innovative in this space.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

I love it. So one of Rob's favorite questions, but I'll ask it. Um, what is your business superpower?

SPEAKER_02 15:16

My business superpower. Huh. I never thought about that. But I guess it'll be me. Right now. Yeah. Well, uh well, no, I say that because um, you know, I'm a visionary, so I'm shaping the business to be, you know, um uh forward thinking as well. Um and I think that will keep us ahead. It wouldn't keep us stagnant where you know you have some of the other, like let's just say oil and gas companies or renewable energy companies that just kind of focused on solar or they focus on just traditional oil and gas, they can't, that means they can't like adapt to different things. So um I'm forward thinking, and I'm like I said, I'm shaping the business to be forward thinking as well. So, you know, while we're establishing what we're doing right now, um, you know, we'll continue to evolve with new innovations as well.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

So let me ask you this you know, for a person that um never thought about getting into renewable energy or oil and gas or you know, solar panels on their house. Uh tell them why why they should consider it.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

So is your question why people should consider uh solar panels on their house or why they should consider oil and gas, or what was the question exactly?

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Answer any one of those two. Or both of them.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

Huh. Okay. Well, I would say I would start with oil and gas, right? Because that's what we've been utilizing for the past several years for I several centuries, you know. But definitely um we need something sustainable, right? And when I say sustainable, I mean something reliable and that's gonna keep us pushing. Um, I think one of the biggest challenges that we have right now, where you say, hey, everybody get an EV car. We don't have, you know, if you want to take a trip from Maryland to South Carolina, you know, is it gonna be convenient for you to um stop and charge your car, right? Or you have to go on an app and try to find the closest space. So I would say still utilizing um oil, I mean, um, you know, diesel gas is uh a good option. And they also have alternatives to um gas, they have biofuels. So I think that's a great option while we're transitioning as well, because you can't just flip the switch and say, everybody, we're gonna use electricity. Um and then as far as installing solar panels on um people's houses or even buildings or whatsoever else, and building unique um solar farms, um, I think it's a great idea. One, um, our grid right now is taking a lot of demand, especially with pushing everyone towards electrification and EVs, which a lot of states are doing. Um, our infrastructure that we have in place, it's not necessarily reliable, hasn't been updated. Um, so you're opening yourselves up for what they call uh blackouts, brownouts, those things. And it's also um a security, you know, uh uh not security, but it's a security challenge, right? Um, because someone can tap into a grid and knock it out or do things like that. So I think why not be independent? Why not source your own energy? The sun gives out free energy every single day. Even if you go outside as your personal self, you'll get some free energy for your body, right? You'll come back and rejuvenate. So why not um power your home with uh from the sun?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

No, I love that because people need to they need to understand that uh there's free energy out there, you might as well take advantage of it.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Yeah, you're gonna pay for it either way, right? Yeah, you're gonna pay for it from a utility company or you're gonna pay for it some kind of way.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

So and you can get paid from it if you're receiving it.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Yes. Right now, at least, um, before they start changing up laws and stuff. So you know, at some at some point, some utility companies are paying back, um, but they're a lot now because some a lot of people have transitioned to solar, where you're like you say, Yeah, we're we're not we're not taking any more energy back from solar panels. So just gotta be honest there. Um battery storage is kind of where it's gonna be at now because you need to store that power that you're getting from the sun. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Okay. The reason why we have you on this podcast is number one, you're a member of VGA, you're also a veteran, and you're a business owner. So can you talk to people a little bit about uh being a veteran entrepreneur and being also a member of VGA?

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Being a veteran entrepreneur, I'll start there. I would say um it is a blessing. I would say there's a lot of opportunities for um veterans who are entering into the business space. So um there's also a lot of resources. Don't get overwhelmed. Uh I I was getting overwhelmed because it's like a abundance of opportunities. So know which one is right for you at the right time. I would definitely say that. Um, there's stages to business. So, you know, you might need resources um at the beginning that you might not necessarily need at the end. And there's some that you need, like close, well, not to say at the end, but like maybe further on, like the middle, uh, middle stage of your business, whatsoever else. Just don't get caught up. A lot of people um tell you, hey, go and get those government contracts. You're veteran, go and do this. I mean, yes, it's a great, it's a great opportunity, but I would just say, you know, just continue, build your foundation up, right? Um, and then when you're ready for those opportunities, then step into them. Um, as far as being a member of um Veterans Scrum America, I would say it's uh uh it's a great opportunity as well, right? Uh I know I tried to leave and Donnell said, What are you doing? So that was the time I was trying to figure out, man, I'm not I'm not doing what I need to do. And I'm like, I don't know when, but I'm like, you know, um, I see it as a great space. It's it's a great, I mean, especially if you are a veteran, right? Um, you're looking continue to look for that community, that's the space to get it. Um, they have a lot of resources, and I also like the fact that it's not just business. Um, there's some social events, which I still haven't made it down to line dancing, but it's on my uh it's on my calendar one of these days. Um and I also saw.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

On Friday, it's Friday. You can come.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Yeah, that hike to wood bridge that was what gets me. And I also saw y'all having a space tournament. So that's gonna pull me out the house. Uh so yeah, I mean it's it's opportunities for business, but it's also opportunity to connect with other veterans and have that community um that a lot of people look for when they they get out because some people feel like they're isolated, they don't know what to do. Um and I think Veterans Growing America uh will help, you know, help you with that, help you forge that path. And I get a t-shirt for being a member. So yeah, I like that as well, which it took me a minute, but I you know, I taught to Douglas.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

We got we got you, we got you, we we worked it on.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

Yeah, we got it squared away.

SPEAKER_01 22:45

So be but first of all, I want to thank you for your time. But before we get out of here, I want to know for the viewers and the listeners um receiving this information from you today, do you have any final words for them?

SPEAKER_02 23:01

What words do I have? Um, I would kind of go back to something I said, right? Um, I would say know, respect and honor your values um as a business owner. Um, and well, I would say uh your time and your energy. Uh and your money, right? Uh it's it's easy to get caught up and just giving your money away because everyone thinks that, hey, well, you I need to be a business advisor or whatsoever else. They have free resources out there for businesses, you know, if you're just starting up, right? Um, don't just start spending your money and then again, don't put your time everywhere. Everybody doesn't deserve your time. Um, let them earn it, right? But again, make sure it aligns with who you are and um, you know, what your business is doing, right? Because you could, as soon as you hit networking, you could just show up there and there's no one in that space that, you know, can even be your client or even be a good referral partner. Now, I'm not saying don't go to these networking events. I mean, go, but just keep in mind, like, hey, where you where you should be. So if I'm, you know, in the energy sector, I don't need to be, and I'm focused on like commercial clients, I don't necessarily need to be um at the networking event down the road where it's just uh uh insurance agents or people selling me home insurance. It doesn't make sense for me. So just just remember what your values are, um, know how know your budget too, so you don't just start spending money everywhere. Um, and again, respect your time because that's the most precious thing, valuable thing that you have. Um, and you can't get that back. So I think that, yeah, that's I think that's what I have for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

That's real. That's real. And and again, thank you for um definitely sharing that information with us. How can people get a hold of you with your socials' website uh at everything?

SPEAKER_02 25:00

So um right now my uh my website is in development, but it should be launching pretty soon. Um and right now I'm just utilizing LinkedIn. So just put in Kenya Linkford. It shouldn't be anyone else, but um just put that in and I should come up and that's where you can connect with me. Or you can connect with me on VGA Directory because they have that space there.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

I love it. Thank you so much for sharing that. Donnell, how can people connect to Venerants Growing America and continue to support?

SPEAKER_00 25:37

Well, the first way that they can support is talking to Coach Robb about the things that he does. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do, Coach Rob?

SPEAKER_01 25:45

Yeah, I can do that. This I get excited when he passes it back to me. Hey, so I am a financial strategist, um, also a business strategist, but I really want to focus on the financial strategy uh simply because we we're in that spending season, right? We are um in the midst of the holidays, and essentially I look at the holidays from a financial perspective that it's the one month that puts everybody in debt for the next six months, right? So essentially you're gonna be waiting for them taxes to get returned before you can break back even. So let's start to make better decisions around here. And if you need help with the strategy or making better decisions, go to yourmoneygoat.com and then you can go to slash events and you can see one of the webinars and you can join our uh our community where we talk about these things, or you can go to uh your moneygoat slash yourmoneygoat.com slash bookings, and we can sit down and have a one-on-one conversation. I pre appreciate the platform, DJ. Truly do.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Hey, I'm I'm happy to do so. And so let me tell you a little bit about VGA. So, first and foremost, we provide a space, place, and opportunity for individuals like these two who have businesses where you can do business with them. And so if you're looking for energy or money, go to veteransgrowingamerica.com, click on that directory, and start doing business with them. In addition to that, we say that you're in business for yourself, but not by yourself. Every last event that we do, everything that we do is actually tied to business. From space tournaments to line dancing to all of the things that we do is all about business. And so come by our location or our website and shop, baby. Shop, baby.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

We are over and out.