Meet Janes Betsy Polk Joseph and Maggie Ellis Chotas

Posted on March 16, 2010 - Filed Under Meet a Jane, Merry Jane, Success Tips for Jane, Which Jane Are You?

Betsy Polk Joseph and Maggie Ellis Chotas own Mulberry Tree Consulting (MTC), a facilitation practice that works with organizations ready to make a positive, lasting difference for their employees and communities. MTC is a leader in strategic planning and leadership development for community-focused organizations. It didn’t take long for Betsy and Maggie to figure out that their success at work and joy in life stemmed from the flexibility and support their partnership provided. Curious to learn if other women achieve similar benefits from working together, they interviewed partners across the globe and confirmed that partnership is paying off in big ways for women. Maggie and Betsy determined that these powerful, productive collaborations deserve a name of their own: Powership! Maggie and Betsy are currently writing Between us we have it all, a celebration of the promise of powership for all women who are ready for a better way to work and live.

In 2002, Maggie and Betsy determined their career moves around professional and personal needs and goals. Both were raising babies under a year old, were in the same area code for the first time in years, and were each ready for change. Maggie, a school administrator, was tired of 24-hour work days. Betsy, a strategic planning consultant from Washington, D.C., had just moved to North Carolina. Both were considering obtaining additional advanced degrees when they recalled the wise words of Maggie’s mother: “When women think about changing careers, they often think they need another degree or more credentials; men just change careers.” Maggie and Betsy realized the time was right to create the business they had always dreamed about building together. “We’d always known we wanted to work together someday but we weren’t sure how to make it happen,” recalls Betsy. “After all, we were following separate career tracks – Maggie in education and Betsy in organization development. We wove together our skills and interests to create Mulberry Tree Consulting, a facilitation practice that helps organizations reach their goals by coaching employees to work together more effectively.”

For Maggie and Betsy, their greatest reward is each other. “You can’t beat the success, sanity and satisfaction that comes from having a partner who is there to share perspectives and laughter, celebrate progress, vent frustrations and work with you to achieve success for the business you’ve built both together,” said Maggie.

After taking the free Which Jane Are You? assessment at www.JaneOutoftheBox.com, Maggie and Betsy discovered that they are Merry Janes. “When we started, our goal was to grow MTC in sync with the ages of our children – we each have two. We started as Merry Janes thinking we’d be Jane Doughs by the time the youngest started kindergarten. Life is what happens when you make other plans – we’re still Merry Janes but Tenacity Jane is on the rise. We want to raise the visibility and profitability of our small, well-respected consulting practice. As partners, we take on different roles to further business goals and development. This means that depending on the demands of the day, one of us might take on the role of Tenacity Jane by focusing on key details, Go Jane Go by strategically seizing new opportunities, or Jane Dough as we prepare for a bright future.”

Calling all Merry Janes! Betsy and Maggie have some counsel for you. “Hold on! It’s wonderful to be able to work in a way that’s enjoyable and balanced, but don’t let your appreciation cloud the importance of your work. It’s too easy to crowd a flexible life with other commitments – volunteer gigs, home responsibilities, etc. If your business is important to you, make it a priority and make sure you give it the time it deserves.”

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