In this episode you will hear from Master Networker, Alana Muller.  She shares her story of how she went from being a corporate star to falling into a new role in life as a business networker, author, and coach.

She shares how she developed a formula to master her networking skills and advice for those who struggle getting out there and meeting new people.  Her tips and advice make for a great plan to begin putting yourself out there if you are looking to change careers or start a new one.

Alana Muller is an entrepreneurial executive leader whose primary focus is to connect, inspire and empower community.  She is the former President of Kauffman FastTrac (a division of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation), a global provider of training to aspiring and established entrepreneurs, providing them the tools, resources and networks to start and grow successful businesses. Additionally, Alana spent a number of years as an executive with Sprint Corporation serving in a variety of general management roles, including marketing, talent management, corporate strategy and wireless data product marketing.  

Today, Alana is founder and CEO of Coffee Lunch Coffee where she is a Networking speaker, workshop facilitator, coach and author of the book, Coffee Lunch Coffee: A Practical Field Guide for Master Networking and a companion blog, CoffeeLunchCoffee.com. Her accessible, relevant, immediately actionable approach to professional Networking for those interested in Connecting with others, getting involved in their communities, seeking to advance their careers or looking to build social relationships, has helped thousands of people formulate a strategic mindset around Networking.  Coffee Lunch Coffee is a WBENC-Certified WBE.  

Alana is also Community Director for American Public Square at Jewell, an organization that brings together non-like-minded people to engage in civil conversation about controversial topics, for which she launched KC Common Good, standalone 501(c)3 designed to give all members of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area access to hope and opportunity while reducing violence.  

Alana enjoys Connecting with people around the world and sharing stories on topics such as Networking, entrepreneurship and women in business.  She is a columnist for American City Business Journals’ BizWomen.com and other publications, has been a contributor to Forbes.com, The Huffington Post and CNBC, and, twice, was a featured speaker at TEDxOverlandPark.

Alana has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago, where she was the recipient of the Mike and Karen Herman Fellowship for Women in Entrepreneurship, and an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Smith College. She is actively engaged in the community and serves on a number of corporate and volunteer boards including ISCTE International Business School (Lisbon, Portugal), Oppenstein Brothers Foundation, Enterprise Bank (NASDAQ: EFSC), Morningstar Communications, Swartz + Associates, Village Shalom Senior Living Community, Jewish Community Foundation, and Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee. Alana is the immediate past president of the Kansas Chapter of International Women’s Forum.  She is an alumna of Coro Kansas City and the Civic Council’s Kansas City Tomorrow program.  She was recognized as the 2019 JCRB|AJC Emerging Leader, the 2017 Instructor of the Year by the Turner Construction Management Program, a 2013 NextGen Leader by the Kansas City Business Journal and a 2012 Influential Woman by KC Business magazine.  Alana is a Strengthscope-certified coach.

Follow Alana on Twitter at @AlanaMuller.  Learn more about her professional background on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanamuller.

In this episode of Jump 180 you will hear from someone who went from politics, to retail sales management, to owning his own cleaning company franchise.  You will hear how being a "generalist" can be beneficial as a leader and learn the importance of developing your creative side to help drive innovation and change.

John Hanson is the owner of a The Maids franchise in Kansas City. He is married to Deanna and has four children: Ashlyn (19), Joshua (16), Caleb (15), and Jonathan (13). He is an active member of Faith Community Church. 

Prior to co-founding the Maids of Kansas City with his parents in 2003, John Hanson was a Regional Sales Manager for Western Wireless, a precursor to T-Mobile.  He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Park University with degrees in Finance and Accounting. The Maids of Kansas City grew rapidly from the outset and achieved one million dollars in revenue in its third year. It is currently one of the largest single location residential cleaning companies in the country. 

John’s focus in building the business over the past 17 years has been creating a culture of empowerment that allows members of the organization to grow and develop their leadership potential. He has brought together a richly diverse group of men and women who speak four languages, are from four continents and over a dozen countries. Nothing brings him greater joy than seeing his people overcome the unique challenges of a business where hourly employees work together on small four-person teams working independently spread throughout the city. 

In 2016 John retired from day to day operations at The Maids to focus using his experience to support the entrepreneurial community both in Kansas City and internationally.

On this episode, Diana Alt shares insights into her multiple career 180's she has taken over the course of her corporate career.  Taking many turns in a career, both forward and backwards, can build your confidence, skill set, and really stretch who you are.  She will share her key learnings from every pivot she has made both positive and negative, that ultimately has landed her in her sweet spot.

Diana Alt is a connector, problem solver, and career strategy coach who uses the skills she’s gathered throughout 20+ years in corporate product development roles to help people manage their careers and business. Diana helps people get out of their own way by building confidence, setting boundaries, and casting a vision for an awesome life. She’s guided by the principle that work should feel GOOD, not like a long slow march towards oblivion. Diana can be reached at diana.alt@dkacoaching.com or via Facebook and LinkedIn