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10 ways to get your act together Jo Kelly Coaches People To Be Great Actors - Online

May 4, 2024

Jo Kelly isn't your average acting instructor.

In fact she does not use the term "teacher" even once "I don't do anything in the way of giving people instructions on how to behave" she adds. "I aid people to not behave."

Through exercises that are experiential, Jo coaches mainly actors and other artists of every kind in addition to non-artist "seekers" in how to find inner freedom and become the most authentic versions of themselves. This way, actors are able to stop performing and begin acting and becoming. "I would like to be a midwife more than a teacher, since I assist people in coming back to their authentic self, and become reborn," she explains.

She believes the success of an actor lies in their satisfaction and the ability to dedicate themselves completely to the character they play. "When the character is being defended completely, the story is told and the public is affected," she says.

In her unique style of coaching performers, she assists them to tap in to their childhood imagination, fascination and fun. What does this mean? They deliver authentic, live, and raw performance.

In the year 2016, Jo transitioned from in-person coaching to develop an online business via . Since, she's led three consecutive educational journeys, and she's provided over 8,000 individuals. The group has had amazing successes since they worked with Jo and also have secured jobs at the most prestigious studios in the game like Netflix, HBO, Disney, Showtime, ABC Studios, and more.

This is how she created an online enterprise doing what she's passionate about:

Skip ahead:

She researched her topic.

Jo took a different path into acting.

Born in Belgium She earned her MBA after which she specialized in the field of human resource management and the psychology of systems. Afterwards, she did corporate coaching. "The corporate environment never felt exactly like the one I was used to," she shares. "I decided to drop everything and move to Paris, and start over ."

One of the reasons she decided to start over was to attempt acting, something she was in over. She was passionate, hardworking, and put all of her time and money in learning to become the very best actress she could be.

Despite her dedication to the craft, she says she was a good actor, but not an outstanding actor. Much like many actors, she had stage anxiety. "Most of my actors had the same issue," she says. "We had all been extremely passionate about acting, however when it was our turn to play we were nervous. ."

She became curious about the obstacles that were preventing herself and others from being great actors. "My fascination turned into an obsession," she says. "I wanted to know what drives actors to be so dedicated and intense decrease when the time comes to perform. ."

For the next several years, she investigated the reasons why actors feel restricted. The research she conducted led her to the conclusion that when kids play, they're free. While when adults are playing, they've lost their freedom due to societal conditioning. "When I realized this, I spent the rest of my time really aiding actors to break out of their conditioning so that they could appear and act with that childlike energy that they had previously," explains Jo.

She started as a coach

Jo's research experience led her to explore various techniques for somatic healing and then tested them on other people by private or group coaching back in early 2000. After a few years Jo named her company To Be Or Not To Act.

Soon, she realized that those she coached were lacking commitment. "No regardless of how committed my colleagues were, they couldn't be expected to be consistent in their attendance every day. Although we would meet at least three times per week however, there wasn't any accountability during breaks. It was common for people to drop the ball quickly if they weren't around me." Jo says. Jo.

She decided that online courses could help individuals stay consistent with their routine. She describes her online classes as "journeys," and the first journey she takes people through includes The Reset: From Resistance to Freedom--which she developed in the year 2014. "I began to design The Reset so that I could help people through the 33 days of The Reset," she explains.
 "Since that it's on the internet, individuals can do it at their own pace and create their own schedules."

Jo is of the belief that humans were born with an authentic essence, and then societal conditioning asks us to behave, think, and feel in a particular way. According to her, the purpose of The Reset is for people to move through daily somatic exercises that allow them to shed the conditioned and return to their instinctual nature. Every day, in The Reset, Jo offers recorded exercises. Jo also offers two Q&A sessions, two sessions of group work via pods, and one semi-Q&A where Jo answers frequently asked questions on the private Facebook group.

Being able to adjust the timing of an online journey lets Jo's participants take the sessions at any point at any time, whether they awake, before they go to bed and whenever they find spare time throughout the day. "The greatest thing is that it allows them to make these sessions work within their schedules," she explains.

She created an online company which allowed her to live a more flexible life style

When Jo first began her own online Reset journey, she had each daily session on her website. In the following years she changed to Reset after being encouraged to join the platform through her trainer. "You people know what you're doing, and I don't" she says with a smile.

After moving into coaching via the internet Jo's lifestyle has changed. When she conducted the interview, she called from the hospital where she was spending time with her daughter. "Eight years ago, my baby was born carrying a genetic condition, which means that she requires hospital treatment each month," she shares.

" allows me to be a mother and manage the rest of my life while keeping my business going, even when I'm at the hospital while my daughter receives her monthly transfusions," she adds. "Working online allows me to care for my child in the way I would like to and stay always at home to her. I can go to hospital for medical needs while still being able to have a career I'm passionate about and not having a stressful ."

She created subsequent journeys

After people have completed The Reset, they have the option to go into a three-month journey called The Purposeful Actor. The program offers a daily three-hour session for 12 weeks. "The students here have a bit more independent with regards to accountability and proving themselves. There are still some things to follow every day and they shouldn't be relying on me for motivation to complete it; they have to find their own purpose, which is why they are here." Jo shares.

Jo is also available for Q&As through the journey of The Purposeful actor that occur every three weeks. After having successfully completed the Purposeful Journey you can choose to join a yearly membership called BAMF Actors In Action, which is a reference to Bad-Ass Mom F***king Actors In Action. "I created this membership because those who have completed both of the journeys would like to keep working on the route," she says.

The program has been in operation for four years, and the membership includes a one-hour content monthly session and group sessions via weekly pods, monthly Q&A session with Jo, and a six-hour summit once every three months. "The membership helps people determine what they'll do to go out in the world to be the person they're meant do, get connected with industry professionals, write their own content and raise the bar on their instrument," she explains.

She worked with artists of all kinds

According to Jo Jo, the vast majority of her clients on her sessions include actors. But there are others who are artists like writers, dancers, storytellers, and singers, as well regular people who "want to improve their physical limitations," such as mothers and professionals like pro athletes television hosts, pro athletes, and therapy professionals. "Freedom is a concern to anyone who wants to be fully expressed," she says.

Because the tours are conducted in English the journeys attract travelers all over the world. "We are a diverse group of people, from all continents, but the majority of people are from America, Europe, and Australia," she shares.

Most of her audience is in the 20-50 age bracket. There are also people in their third stage of their lives, and it's not uncommon for her to invite those aged 70 and over to her adventures.

The client let her do the talking

With regards to marketing her journeys, Jo says the word has spread mostly via the word of mouth.

The homepage on her website, she's added an online testimonial reel. It provides social proof and increases the credibility of her work. Plus, website visitors are able to sign-up for the newsletter she sends out on her site. In order to collect email addresses, she offers two workshops for free to attract leads: Stop Trying To Be A Great Actor So You Have A Chance At Being Great as well as The Instinctive Actor. Not only do these trainings aid in collecting her readers' data, they also give participants a glimpse of the how she coaches.

Also, she posts to her Instagram page -- which boasts more than 10,000 followers--and gets external press by being interviewed on people's podcasts, blogs, as well as magazines.

She chose value-packed pricing

Jo is determined to make her journeys cost-effective for everyone, since actors tend to have a fluctuating income. "If you visited an acting class once per week, it would cost you between $300-$400. The majority of time, you'll sit down watching other actors perform the scenes, and at times, you get a turn," she adds.

"These online travel options are a much cheaper alternative," continues Jo. "The worth of our trips are 10x what we sell to customers. ."

The Reset is priced below $1,000 USD. Purposeful Actor is $1,250 USD. Membership cost $270 USD for a month.

She stayed in her zone of brilliant

Although she's the chief at To Be Or Not To Act, Jo is firm in wanting to only spend time in her zone of excellence, which is coaching and making material. She doesn't feel tech-savvy, preferring to stay "in the flow" doing the things she excels at. "The rest of the tasks in running a company isn't something I'm interested in since this isn't my field of genius," she says.

Jo says her success is due by hiring a coach from early on. In the end, when it came time to create evergreen journeys and she decided to take a chance and enrolled in a class of $20k to learn how to do it. "It was quite a stretch that required me take out a loan for half the amount. But I'm glad that I made it happen," she shares.

She believes that anybody can build a successful online course business. But, she advises that this isn't an easy task.

"It takes commitment and determination, and you have to feel passionate about the work you're doing. For me, it's all I've done since switching professions in my early twenties and it's what I'll always undertake. This passion makes it so that even when things get tough, I stick with it ."

She created from the heart

She advises online creators to remain realistic about the hard work that they'll need to create an online business--and recommends that you only take on the task when the subject they're teaching is close to their heart.

"The problem is now that the moment you join social media, everyone is a coach and everyone is selling you how possible it is to make millions in a matter of seconds, which isn't the truth," says Jo. "It is a fact that if you hold something you are passionate about, you can reach people who are bigger than that of your neighbors. It takes effort, as well as falling, and getting back up. You need to be coached, and working hard and money until your structure is built ."

Just like Jo When you create an enterprise from the heart It provides you with the strength to persevere through the hard times.

"An online company isn't merely an opportunity for you to earn money. It should be developed by your heart, based on what you're meant to be doing. In the event that you do not, you'll fall off the ball because it will appear too heavy." she explains.

"If you're on purpose, you'll be ready to face the obstacles. If you're in the market for a quick money grab it won't be possible to handle them. My advice is to apply your passions to your heart. It is essential to excel at your job because you're facing a high level of competitors. You must be able to trust the work you're doing. ."

Her integrity was maintained with her craft

If asked about the online course trends we may be seeing in 2024 Jo believes that there will continue to be a surplus of online courses. Jo says the primary differentiator between the "McDonald's" classes and "gourmet" courses will be the ones that have been designed by a professional with integrity.

"When there's an abundance of stuff, there'll be two kinds of online work. There'll be McDonald's style courses and then there'll be the high-quality, gourmet courses. There will be an agenda to accomplish something or the other with your life that won't come from a place of integrity There will be those who have been going at it for quite a while," she says.

In order to create an exquisite gourmet dining experience she suggests you go back to the core.

"There is incredible potential to anyone with a firm foot by their hearts and desires to give back," she continues. "The those who require your services will find you ."

"I'm happy that it allows us to connect as humans in the things that matter to us. It's incredible."