A Look at Wendy Marie Marx’s Busy Life

Written by: Grant Ayers

Wendy Marie Marx has always managed to excel when the odds are against her. When life throws obstacles her way, she manages to come out stronger on the other side. After a brief period of unemployment, Marx now operates a fully-licensed daycare service, and works in a networking marketing company and travel agency. Furthermore, she’s finding success in all of these while still supporting a blended family with seven children. Continue reading to learn more about her business ventures, time management skills, and how she fits it all into a day!

A Q&A with Wendy Marie Marx

After losing her job, she decided to look into going back to school while taking care of her sister’s two kids. As more people asked her about childcare services, she took the initiative to launch a licensed daycare service for up to 12 kids in 2010.

Currently, she’s taking care of 6 kids by herself for 10 hours a day during weekdays. While it could become easy to burnout working with kids for 50 hours a week, Marx has found a multitude of creative outlets to help manage her stress.

In March 2019, Marx began her work with Zyia, an active lifestyle brand that specializes in activewear and athleisure clothing. In her time working with Zyia, Marx has become a Zyia Active Senior Director, built a team, and makes residual income through sales.

As if a family, daycare, and her work with Zyia weren’t enough, she felt comfortable and confident enough to put yet another business venture in her sights in the fall of last year with a vacation-planning and travel agency, Travel Travel.

“I was approached by the owner of Travel Travel and was told that I’d be a good fit for the job. I knew that it’d be challenging to fit one more thing into my schedule, but I took the chance on it in case any friends or family wanted to book trips through me, and it ended up taking off. It’s a bit of a juggling act between the three jobs, but I learned to make it work,” Marx said.

Q. How do you conduct sales with Zyia active clothing?

A: It’s a network marketing company where we do parties online. I’ll simply schedule and send out parties online through a template and shoot the invites out through social media. Doing it all through Facebook makes it very simple for me, but it doesn’t have to be on social media. It sometimes sounds like I’m constantly posting and doing things for Zyia, but there are so many tools and efficiencies that help streamline the process.

Q. How do you fit Zyia and Travel Travel into your already busy work schedule?

A: While I do put in some extra hours on top of the 50 hours with daycare, I’m able to fit a lot of my work for other businesses in during the kids’ nap time. I usually spend anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes going through my checklists of tasks that I need to stay on track with and complete. Priorities shift, but I’m always focused on the tasks at hand and what needs to get done first.

Wendy Marie Marx’s Resume

  • Licensed Daycare Provider (2010)
  • Zyia Active Senior Director (2019)
  • Travel Advisor IC: Travel Travel Fargo (2022)
  • Avid Peloton member @Sober_FitMom2
  • Member of Power of 100 Red River Valley

Did You Know?
The Power of 100 RRV is an organized group of women from the Fargo-Moorhead area looking to make a difference for local charities four times a year! 100 women gather together for one hour, four times a year with a willingness to share $100 with a deserving charity.


Marx’s Travel Resume

  • Cancun, Mexico
  • Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
  • Riviera Maya, Mexico
  • Mazatlan, Mexico
  • Cozumel, Mexico
  • Negril, Jamaica
  • Montego Bay, Jamaica
  • Ocho Rios, Jamaica
  • Runaway Bay, Jamaica
  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  • Honolulu/Waikiki Beach, Hawaii
  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • Miami, Florida
  • Tampa, Florida
  • Cruises through Alaska and the Bahamas

With Travel Travel, I don’t necessarily have a checklist of tasks, as each day is a little different depending on the client and vacation. Sometimes, I’ll be on the phone for 30 to 45 minutes longer than expected to handle a reservation or booking, but there are some things that I have to take care of during the evenings or on the weekends. This week alone, I’m helping eight different families with weekend traveling.

I try not to go on my phone right away in the mornings, or else I feel like I’m working from the moment I wake up to when I go to bed. Sometimes it’s good to turn every notification off and have some time for yourself.

Q. Where are the majority of the vacations you’re booking?

A: Mexico, the Caribbean, Jamaica, and Hawaii are very popular right now. I specialize in Mexico, the Caribbean, and tropical places overseas, but a lot of people are asking more about Hawaii since it doesn’t require a passport. Cruise ships have also been very popular as well.

Q. You have a very busy schedule and prefer a consistent schedule. Do you stick to that schedule to ease stress?

A: I do it because I’ve learned that consistency forms habits and habits will help eliminate the feeling of being overwhelmed. On a typical day, I get up, work out, and do my morning routine. Working out has become so routine for me that it’s like brushing my teeth, where I just get up and do it. If your routine becomes mundane, switch up a little part of it, rather than the whole thing. It’s important that it still works for you, so find your best schedule and make small improvements to it.

A Week With Wendy Marie Marx

Weekdays

• 6 a.m. Alarm

• 6:15 a.m. – 7 a.m. I work out for 30 to 45 minutes. I use the Peloton app and do cycling or weight workouts. This is a priority daily.

• 7 a.m. – 7:20 a.m. I get ready for my full-time daycare job. I take care of six kids from 7:30-5:30 Monday through Friday.

• 7:20 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. Check emails and messages. I do not check these until I am ready to work for the day. For people trying to get more done in the day, it’s important to schedule your time, don’t get lost in your scroll, and don’t check your messages right when you wake up. It’s a sure way to get you sidetracked.

• 7:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. Daycare activities with the kids. I prepare and serve lunch for the kids at 11 a.m.

• 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. I prepare and serve lunch for the kids.

• 12 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Kids nap. This is my work time for Zyia and Travel Travel. On Tuesdays, I schedule my therapy appointments via telehealth. I highly recommend this to everyone, as mental health should be a top priority. We’re all human and have stress, among other things, that we can use help to navigate. We should be normalizing therapy for everyone.

• 12 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. I focus my time on Zyia. I have a weekly checklist Monday through Friday for my Zyia business. I check on customers with their orders, share posts to my Facebook group, check in with team members and do calls/ training.

• 12:45 p.m. – 2 p.m. I focus on Travel Travel by doing quotes, updating current clients, sharing travel tips on my Facebook page, checking emails, or doing training on specific destinations. I started this business in September of 2022. I also squeeze in lunch while I work.

• 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. I focus on other tasks that I need to get done. I have a daily checklist to make sure I get things done. I prioritize it and check things off each day. When we get overwhelmed, we tend to do nothing, which leaves us feeling more overwhelmed. Write down all the things you need to get done, prioritize the top two to three things that are most important, then get started crossing them off. Then, prioritize the next two to three tasks. You will feel a sense of accomplishment, and you are taking the guesswork out of what to do next. Review that list each day and rewrite your list when it gets messy.

• 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. We do afternoon activities with the kids at daycare.

• 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. I usually make dinner or help with making dinner. We have a blended family with seven kids, four of which are still at home, so we try to have sit-down dinners together as much as possible.

• 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Family time or downtime. I try not to focus on any work-related activities during this time unless I have to, or unless no one is home during other activities, such as sports.

• 9 p.m. I wind down and watch TV in bed. I’m usually asleep by 9:30 or 10 p.m. before I’m up again to repeat. My weekdays look very similar, which helps me get more done. When you start to get into a steady routine, you’ll form habits that help keep you on track.

Weekends

Weekends can sometimes be filled with sports for the kids between basketball, all-day volleyball tournaments, or lacrosse most weekends. When we don’t have those events, this is what a typical weekend looks like.

• 7:30 a.m. – 8 a.m. Wake up. On Saturdays, we usually have breakfast with friends or make breakfast at home.

• 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. One-hour workout.

• 10:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. Shower and get ready for the day.

• 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. On Saturdays, we usually enjoy Bingo and lunch. On Sundays, we get laundry done and do any other house chores needed.

• 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Downtime or finish chores for the day. On Sundays, we also do meal planning for the week and order groceries to have delivered. I highly recommend this for busy families and to help with a budget. It takes some of the stress off your shoulders to have a plan for the week.

• 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Make dinner.

• 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Eat dinner.

• 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Catch up on a Netflix series or watch a movie. Some nights I might catch up on work if there are things I need to get done. I try to dedicate my weekends to my family or allow myself downtime. We cannot possibly work every single day with no breaks. Anyone will burn themselves out.

• 9 p.m. Wind down and get ready for bed..

Wendy Marie Marx’s Tips for Time Management

Personal development is very important.

I do therapy appointments every other week, depending on how I’m feeling. I think it’s important to normalize mental health and know that if you need to talk to somebody, go talk to someone because we all have different life stressors from everybody else.

Write everything down the minute you think of it.

After creating that list, you can prioritize what you need to get done and cross it off as you work your way through the list. It sounds so simple, but it’s been such a game-changer for me to get everything onto paper. It makes you feel much more accomplished when you cross something off a list. Sometimes I’ll get something done and still write it on the list, just so I can cross it off and feel productive and accomplished.

Follow a checklist.

I’m a firm believer in checklists. I have checklists for my businesses and life in general. On Sundays, we meal plan and plan out the week as a family. It helps the week go just a little bit smoother for all of us.

Plan something to look forward to.

Right now, I’m traveling or taking a long weekend about once a quarter. Not everybody likes to travel, but having something planned to look forward to can make a big difference in your day-to-day life.

Journaling, meditating, and working out.

These are all basic things that are extremely helpful to do each morning or when you need to, as you need to take a break for yourself from time to time.

Contact Wendy Marie Marx

Phone: 701.306.9712
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: /wendymarie2014

Travel Travel Facebook:
Facebook: /groups/itstimetotravelwendymarie
Zyia Facebook:
Facebook: /groups/livethelifeyouLOVEzyiawithwendymarie

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Grant is a Senior Editor at Spotlight Media. Grant writes for Fargo INC! and Bis-Man INC!