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Meet Ellen Marrs of MarrsCards in Gilbert

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Marrs.

Ellen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in northeast Georgia. My biological mother passed away from colon cancer when she was 38. A few months later, I was left on someone’s doorstep (when I was 11 years old) and told that I could either live with them or go to a home for “wayward” girls.

Fortunately, that couple adopted me and raised me as their own. After high school, I started working for Delta Airlines in Atlanta while I attended college. I first worked as an international customer service agent, assisting people who arrived in the US who didn’t speak English. I would provide translation services as they passed through US customs and immigration. Eventually, I went on to become the first female aircraft mechanic to work in Delta’s thrust reverser shop.

In 2001, I took a leave of absence from Delta to attend art school at Arizona State University. In Arizona, I met Rick, the man who is now my husband. We were married in 2003. We have seven children, ages 14 and younger. Three of our children are biologically ours, and four were adopted into our family. In 2014, we adopted from foster care at the same time I was about to give birth to our third biological child. We went from having two to seven children in less than nine months. It was insane!

I started running races when I was 41 years old after a stranger in the gym convinced me that I could. I had made a sarcastic comment about not being able to run. When he heard me, he simply said, “You’re a runner. You just don’t believe it yet.” Since that time, I’ve run dozens of races. I even challenged myself to run “12 in 12” which involved a half marathon or full marathon every month for a year from Oct 2012-Sept 2013. The last three races of my challenge I was pregnant with my daughter, Jaeden. (More details on this journey can be found at www.lessonsfromthefinishline.com.)

More recently, I ran the Boston Marathon last year with the Boston Celtics Green Runs Deep race team. I did so as an invitational runner with the agreement to fundraise for their charity, The Shamrock Foundation. With the help of hundreds of donors, I was able to break the all-time fundraising record for any other Green Runs Deep team member by raising $27,340. I’m running Boston with them this year and excited to help this charity again.

My family and I are currently living our dream of traveling full-time. We had discussed this about five years ago, but always found a reason why we couldn’t “launch.” However, when my sister in GA called me in the summer of 2018 to let me know that her breast cancer had returned, I saw that as my “clue” to no longer waste time or delay our dream. We are traveling the US, on our way to Boston so I can run the marathon. Then, we’ll eventually make our way back to Gilbert towards the end of this year.

Schooling our children has been a tremendous opportunity on the road. We have been homeschooling for seven years now, so the switch to “road schooling” seemed a natural fit. One of our favorite things to do is visit the capitols and learn all we can about the states we are visiting. So far, we have done this in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. It’s so rewarding to see our children learn history, government, and so much more in the actual places where it has either happened in the past or is currently happening.

Having a mobile based business has also made this a possibility. I am a Relationship Marketing Specialist, teaching businesses how to retain their clients and gain more repeat business. I also teach an online gratitude class for individuals and teams. It’s truly been a blessing to help businesses, churches, non-profit organizations, and entrepreneurs increase their referrals and explode their growth, by simply implementing the core principles of relationship marketing.

Even so, my favorite stories are those of personal growth and reconciliation from participants in my gratitude class. I’m extremely blessed to be part of people’s lives, personally and professionally. I absolutely LOVE what I do. I started my business in March 2012 and attended my first company convention just a few months later. It was there that I was taught by our CVO, Kody Bateman, what it meant to dream BIG again.

This is where I wrote many of my “goal statements” that I have been able to achieve in the past seven years: The 12 in 12 Race Challenge, Becoming an author, a motivational speaker, etc. My business is about WAY more than making an income. It’s about making a difference. In my life, in my family, in our community, and in the world. Being able to do this from anywhere there is WiFi is a tremendous blessing.

I was first introduced to my current company in 2007 when I was working as an administrative assistant at my church. At that time, I didn’t personally see a need for it.

Five years later, while working at a different church, the pastor asked me to try the very same products to determine if we could use the program to celebrate the birthdays and anniversaries of our church congregation members. Very quickly, we started to receive very positive feedback from people who had received cards from us.

As soon as I began to see all the positive reactions from people, I knew that I wanted to learn more about it. People would ask how they could begin using it for their personal and business use as well. That led me to do my research and find out how I could help others get started.

Seven years later, I have become a “product of the product.” I teach gratitude classes, and I’m part of something called The Kindness Revolution which is focused on making the world a better, more positive place. Last year, I was named “Ambassador of the Year” for my company. It was a true honor and blessing because it basically meant that I love what I do and I love what I’ve seen happen when people reach out in kindness, compassion, gratitude, and love.

I’ve been able to teach businesses and individuals how to lead a more positive, impactful mission which brings me tremendous joy! The personal development aspect of my company has changed me, my family, and so many others around me. I would have never accomplished all that I have done and am doing if it hadn’t been for my company and the time that was invested in me. I now get to invest that same interest in others and help them grow.

My key quote that was highlighted on stage at our convention last year was this… “Don’t use people to build your business. Use your business to build people.” It’s my business motto that I focus on daily.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not. Some of my struggles were mentioned in the past section. However, I did not mention that during my 12 in 12 race, I had a subchorionic hemorrhage after race #11 which I mistook as a miscarriage. We spent an entire week believing that we had lost our baby girl. Upon returning to AZ, I went to my doctor’s office for a followup visit, only to find out that our daughter was still alive! Hence, the name, Jaeden… which means “thankful.”

Like all big dreamers and goal getters, I have met difficulties and obstacles in most every part of my life. I spent six years working to qualify for Boston when I finally decided to give up. I had been injured and disappointed so many times that I was beginning to believe that this was not what God had in mind for my running journey. I mentioned this to a woman who had invited me to speak at an event in Massachusetts, and that’s when she informed me about the charity program that is connected to the Boston Marathon.

If I hadn’t told her that I was ready to stop trying, I would have missed out on the opportunity to run with such an incredible organization as the Celtics and fund raise for such a worthwhile charity that supports children in need. (Ironic, huh? …based on my past as well as my adopted children’s story…)

Actually, I never even applied to the Celtics race team for Boston. When I applied to run with another charity, I was declined. However, that charity then introduced me to the Celtics organization when they heard that the Green Runs Deep team had a few open spots to fill. How awesome is that?!?

Growing from a family of four to a family of 9 had more challenges than I could ever detail in this interview. We have had to work with behavioral and medical issues that have had me at the “end of my rope” on many days. However, we have a faith that is stronger than any fear that arises. We have survived a LOT of difficult situations and circumstances so that we can now look back and see how far God has brought us on this journey.

And for now, that journey includes nine people traveling across the country in a big box on wheels. We are living life, learning lessons, and sharing stories… in hopes of loving and serving others along the way.

By the way… did I mention that the Boston Marathon 2018 was the coldest, wettest running in over 30 years! It rained the entire 26.2 miles. We had freezing temps, 48 mph headwinds, and hundreds (if not thousands) of people who suffered hypothermia. I tell people that I SWAM the Boston Marathon instead of running it. 🙂

MarrsCards – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
1. I teach Relationship Marketing principles to businesses, non-profits, churches, and entrepreneurs. Basically, anyone who has customers, clients, patients, volunteers, etc… I can help them.
2. I teach simple steps to build long term relationships with others. I often say, “Remember others when they are not giving you their money, and they will remember you when they are ready to spend (or give) that money.”
3. I teach people simply how to be nice to one another. I know it sounds elementary, but it’s true.
4. The majority of everything that impacts us daily is negative. (More than 87%) This negative influence comes from social media, news channels, newspapers, magazines, commercials, gossip, etc.
5. I teach people how to stay in the 13% which is the positive influencers. The world has enough negativity!
6. I also do this through my class, “Gratitude: The Missing Link” which is taught online. It’s a 30-day program that teaches people how to express their gratitude daily and bless others in the process.
7. I help bridge the huge gap between old school communication (letters, cards, printed photos) and high technology (social media, online programs, and apps) to make our world better.

What I love most about my product/brand is that it is focused on the “others” in our lives and not ourselves. In other words, we are constantly looking at ways to simply (but creatively) bless others. I teach people how to utilize social media in a way that reminds others that they matter, that they are important, that they are appreciated.

Being part of people’s successes (both personally and professionally) is what makes me proud to do what I do. When someone has a breakthrough (increased revenue, more volunteers for a church, more donors for a charity, etc.) … that is when I know I’m doing exactly what I was called to do!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We are only getting bigger and stronger. Since we are technology-based but provide a personal touch, we will only grow and impact more people for the better. A few of our founder’s quotes that stick with me are…

1. Appreciation wins over self-promotion, every time. (Business, social media, etc.)
2. The story in our mind becomes the story of our life. (Personal influence, mindset)
3. We won’t stop til the world listens! (World changers – for the better!)

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Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

 

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