Terms

"JoClub is the acronym for Journaling Club, but also has meaning due to my personal name." Jo Franco begins. "When I started to write, I discovered that I was afflicted with large feelings. Also, I knew that my elder siblings would not like to know about my feelings. So, I started with writing."

"I resided in a place of denial as well as an eerie state, talking Portuguese and trying to master English in a tumbling maze of the internet," she said. "I learned a variety of other languages since I never stopped being amazed by being loved by everyone. At the same time I wasn't popular due to being thought of as an odd kid. My appearance was different from everyone who was around me. I was the youngest child therefore I had this quiet tone of voice and quiet character.

"Of sure, I'm able think back now that's how it was, but at the time, there was a continual ache of wondering 'Why do me feel so misunderstood and how do we all go through this."

Happily, Jo had the tool of writing: "I had a more compassionate relationship with myself, simply observing and not judging. I wrote about all this negative stuff, but I'm conscious of the good that has were happening in my life. I was able to modify my writing and not just the words I'd written however, I was surprisingly changing my perspective of the world because I was searching for positive stories. It was necessary to see positive things to have positive experiences to write about. I became more optimistic person. It helped me become more positive."

Knowing the context

In the time she was a student at the college within Manhattan, Jo was overwhelmed by the number of voices she was competing with. She was also able to find a place within her journals. "It wasn't a matter of whether I lived somewhere in the States or on a trip I was able to use this gadget that allowed me to return to me.

"My "why" is that I want to convey to people the sensation of "You're guaranteed to be OK regardless of how dire the circumstances are. Not only will you be able to support you in your own unique manner, but it's also lovely to record your experiences by writing them down. It's a small act of appreciation that it actually began to occur. Your identity will always be inside your personal space, and in your head."

"There's research-based evidence that supports this up," she adds. "There exist clinical trials for recording gratitude as a method for medicine. If people record their gratitude they are happier."

"Give your mind a break. Take the weight out of your mind and write the thoughts down on the paper. If you record unpleasant events, you allow you the space to think about it with the empathy. Emotions can drive us insane. They are at the root of all things. They're the source of confidence, at base of charisma, and that is the reason for being present in the space and capable of attracting positive energy."

"Maybe it could be a membership"

Jo definitely had to be very happy by 2020. Through her YouTube channel with over a million users, she earned money to travel. "I was living a wonderful private life, but behind the scenes, I was writing. That was all I desired to do. What I really did was write."

In January 2020 she was offered her first Netflix position as presenter of The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals. "It was a leap beyond YouTube and into the traditional way of presentation. If anyone has had the privilege of being on a production stage, they'll be aware that the time isn't cut short. There are 16 hours of work and a lot of 'hurry and sit'. You're ready to go for makeup, hair and the rest has been done. There are lines you want to write in your head, and then you're thinking "No we're not lying! We must stop for a moment'!"

Between those pauses often lasting for long periods, Jo would write. "Writing was something I loved which is the reason I wished to make it a career." When covid hit and the show ended, the main source of income dried up.

"I was nervous like everyone was. I made the decision to share pictures of my journal entries. Then it was 100 days later and I was sharing my journals with the world on Instagram Stories. I thought to myself "Hey, maybe this is something that a member can pay for - perhaps members would be willing to pay in a virtual room and write together. This is how JoClub was born. This was only 4 years ago. That seems crazy!"

While watching the Netflix show, Jo realized that journaling is a lens that she uses to view the world through her eyes, through which could see the world. "It wasn't just an interest. If you're on the road for 2 days, it's tough to not feel exhausted. It's easy to get involved in a task that has nothing to do with your work to be paid.

"You recognize, "This is how I make sense of my world. It's a way of life.' This was clear to me if I shook off everything else, the only thing they can't take from me is writing. It was crucial for me to bring this into the next stage of my professional life."

Her work is bigger than she could ever imagine.

Jo took part in the undertaking. "I published three videos each week, and in three languages. I needed to recruit people, then fire them. I learned what it was creating a content machine."

Something had to change. "I didn't want to constantly be working. If you're sick or burned out, which is a common experience for creatives, you're unlikely to earn a living. I've realized that if I want to have my career path that I'll maintain for the foreseeable future I must find ways to stay away from being a source of income."

Jo decided to make something bigger than herself. The journaling club started with a bang on Zoom: "The membership started at just $19 per month, and included a live monthly phone message and a daily journal prompt. daily journal prompts to everyone's email inbox."

She wanted to curate an experience that was as yoga-like with two prompts, then a discussion. Then two more prompts and finally break out rooms. "It became IP (intellectual property)," she recalls. "After the period of six months, I thought, can I train facilitators to run these sessions? In fact, can these facilitators enhance JoClub by ways that I haven't had the chance to? They was looking to "extract the excitement" and work alongside the facilitators who were former members, to create a style of art journaling and also a "bring your own tune" program for young musicians, and others.

"Now there are six sessions per month. I also host the number of sessions I'd like," she says. "Beautiful events that I could not think of happening started to happen when I started hosting retreats. I conducted a pilot study at the university, and we're creating new problems. It wouldn't have been possible to do this if I hadn't kept it as Jo Franco's circle and me as the leader."

Social and cultural cohesion

"An fascinating aspect of the membership model is that it creates a culture," she says. "If somebody's paying to join and they're entering your home. Then you can design your house according to your personal preferences." Jo and her team have explored ways of creating conversation that is more enjoyable so that "people are talking in the areas of the community as well as feeling that they're getting the most worth for the investment."

"It's what differentiates the audience from membership," she adds. "An audience can interact with what you're creating however it's not an exchange of ideas. If I post videos that people comment to it, I'll be sure to respond by forming a community which I'm curating. I'm a part of the organization of the community - the minute they enter the group."

Jo has been thinking a lot about how to handle when a new member joins and how to deal with the newcomers. "How do we minimize the negative impact of entering a space and not knowing anybody? That's the perfect time to dial in on the curating process of culture and this is why individuals stay for an extended duration."

She knows this is not easy. "It's an area you must keep a passion for in order to get better, since a member's membership is something that changes constantly. If you fail to pay attention to changes, you will lose the majority of your members."

It's evident that Jo has integrated the empathy and self-awareness derived from journals to the way she handles her members. Jo believes that writing journals can bring the self-awareness that's not taught at school "We're lacking tools for processing emotions. There are tools that will help keep you from falling off your feet. I was amazed by the benefits. It was a fantastic leisure activity. As I got older, I realized "Damn! this has been my secret""

People often ask her 'Jo you're just 30, What did you do during all this time? I've just published a piece about it, and it all was a success," she laughs.

Additional information

To learn more details on Jo Franco and to become active in JoClub visit joclub.world.

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