For the majority of their nearly 30 years of marriage, Al and Jan Keranen have been heavily involved with direct sales and relationship marketing with several companies, most of whom are quite well known. The family centered couple made the move after a car accident left Al with injuries that made it impossible for him to continue the job he had been doing at the time. It was then that the pair realized that they had no control over their own financial future. This was a crucial and pivotal time for the Keranens, and they knew they had to make a change.
After working for a few years as a teacher making about $15,000 a year, Al learned that as long as he was working for someone else, he was earning money for them and not for himself. It wasn't until he learned how network marketing and relationship marketing worked that he understood where his business future would lie. It was in 2003 at a major conference in Phoenix, Arizona that Al and Jan would learn about and ultimately join forces with the Univera company of nutritional and healthy aging products. Though they had been in the direct sales business for many years prior, they had never felt so immediately at home with a business model and a line of products as they did with Univera.
In 2009, Al Keranen was awarded the Yun Ho Lee Award for his phenomenal work within the Univera organization. Named for the founder of Univera, this much coveted 24 karat gold medallion is the company's highest honor, and Al received it less than six years after signing up with his wife.
The couple's energy level remain a steadfast example of all that is right about the relationship marketing industry, and while they may have big shoes to fill, Al and Jan Keranen nonetheless are paving the way and leaving worthy footsteps to follow in. Al has more of a passion these days for sharing his network and relationship marketing knowhow than for growing his own business.
Al and Jan are the parents of four adult children (James, Scot, Stephanie, and Kevin) and have recently welcomed their very first grandchild into the world. The active couple lives in Portland, Oregon where they continue to lecture and teach others how to replicate their amazing degree of success with marketing and with the amazing Univera business model.
