Creative tips and tricks

10 ways to get your act together Jo Kelly Coaches People To become great actors--online

May 4, 2024

Jo Kelly isn't your average acting instructor.

In reality she isn't using the term "teacher" in any way "I don't do anything in the way of giving people instructions on how to behave" she says. "I assist people in not acting."

Through experiential exercises, Jo coaches mainly actors and artists of all kinds and non-artist "seekers" on how to discover their inner peace and be their most authentic selves. By doing this, performers will stop acting and become acting and becoming. "I like to call myself an acupuncturist more than a teacher, since I aid people to return to their truth and get revived," she explains.

She believes the success of an actor lies in their fulfillment and ability to devote themselves to their role. "When the character is being defended in full, the story and audience is impacted," she explains.

With her distinctive style of teaching performers she assists them in tapping in to their childhood fascination, curiosity, and even play. What does this mean? They deliver authentic, live and authentic performances.

In the year 2016, Jo transitioned from in-person coaching to develop an online-based business through . Since, she's created three consecutive educational journeys, and she's served over 8,000 people. The group has had amazing results since joining Jo and they have been able to land jobs at the largest studios, including Netflix, HBO, Disney, Showtime, ABC Studios and many others.

Here's how she developed an online enterprise in the field she's passionate about:

Skip ahead:

She did her research

Jo was a unique way to get into acting.

Born in Belgium Her birthplace was in Belgium. She completed her MBA before specializing in the field of human resource management and systemic psychology. Afterwards, she did corporate coaching. "The workplace never seemed like my cup of tea," she shares. "I took the decision to leave everything, relocate to Paris and begin afresh. ."

One of the reasons she decided to start over was to attempt acting, something she was in over. She was a hard-working, passionate person, and put all of her energy and resources in acquiring the skills to be the very best actress she could be.

Despite her dedication to her profession, she says she was an excellent actor but not a top actor. As with other actors, she was plagued by stage fear. "Most of my acting colleagues suffered from similar issues," she says. "We had all been so passionate, but when it was our turn to perform the part, we were scared. ."

She became curious about what was blocking her, and other actors from becoming excellent actors. "My interest turned into an obsession" the actress says. "I was interested in knowing what drives actors to be so dedicated and intense shrink when it's time to act ."

In the following years, she studied how actors could feel blocked. Her study led to the conclusion that when kids play, they're free. While when adults are playing it's like they're losing their freedom due to the societal norms. "When I discovered that, I spent the rest of my life helping actors unlearn their conditioning in order to let them show up and be themselves with that childlike energy that they once had," explains Jo.

She started her coaching

Jo's research experience led her to investigate various somatic techniques and methods that she later tried with other clients through private and group coaching in the early 2000s. In the following years Jo named her company To Be Or Not To Act.

She soon realized the people she worked with were not able to demonstrate accountability. "No regardless of how committed my colleagues were, they didn't have the capacity to show up everyday. Even though we had meetings at least three times per week however, there wasn't any accountability between sessions. People would drop the ball without a problem if they were not with me," Jo says. Jo.

She decided that online courses could help individuals stay consistent with their practice. She refers to her online courses in the form of "journeys," and the first journey she takes people through will be The Reset: From Resistance to Freedom. It was created by her in 2014. "I started designing The Reset so that I could help people through an entire 33 days," she explains.
 "Since the site is online, users can access it at their own pace and set their own agenda."

It's Jo's belief that we are born with a true essence, and then societal conditioning asks us to behave, think, and feel in a particular way. According Jo, the aim for The Reset is for people to perform daily exercises that allow them to shed their conditioned behavior and revert back to their natural instincts. Each day in The Reset, Jo offers recordings of exercises. Additionally, she offers two Q&A sessions and two working in groups via pods and one semi-Q&A where she responds to questions that are frequently asked in the private Facebook group.

Being able to adjust the timing of the online experience makes it possible for Jo's members to participate in the classes at any moment in time; when they awake, before they go to bed, or whenever they have some time. "The best part is that they can make them fit within their schedules," she explains.

She started an online venture which gave her the flexibility to lead a lifestyle

When Jo first started her website Reset journey, she was able to log every single session held through her site. In the following years she switched over to the platform following Reset from her mentor. "You are aware of what you're doing, and I don't" she laughs.

Since moving into the coaching online space, Jo's life has changed. When she conducted the interview, she was calling from the hospital where she was spending time with her daughter. "Eight years ago my child was born to a genetic spectra this means she requires hospital treatment every month" she says.

" It allows me to become mother and be in charge of my life while keeping a business running--even while I'm in the hospital as my daughter is receiving her regular transfusions," she adds. "Working online lets me take care for my daughter the way I'd like to and stay always at home to her. I can go to hospital for medical needs and yet pursue a job I am passionate about and not having a stressful ."

Her subsequent travels were her own creations.

When people are done with The Reset, they have the choice of joining a three-month journey known as The Purposeful Actor. The Purposeful Actor journey is a 3-hour class for twelve weeks. "The participants here are more autonomous with regards to accountability and showing up for themselves. There are some routines to do everyday however they aren't able to rely on me to accomplish the work; they must think of their own purpose, which is what the purpose." Jo shares.

Jo also offers Q&A sessions during the Purposeful Actor Journey that occur every three weeks. Once people have completed that Purpose journey and are ready, they can opt to sign up for a year-long membership named BAMF Actors In Action, that stands for Bad-Ass Mother F***king Actors In Action. "I made this membership in order to help people who had finished these two walks wanted to keep working on the path," she says.

The membership has been running for the past four years. it offers a content-based program every month, group work via weekly pods, every month Q&A sessions with Jo the host, as well as a 6 hour summit each three months. "The membership allows people to determine the best way to get out into the world and do what they're meant to be doing, connect with the industry, create their own content, and raise the bar on their instrument," she explains.

She worked with musicians of all sorts

According to Jo, most of her clients in her journeys include actors. But there are other types of artists, such as dancers, writers, storytellers, and singers, and even regular folks who "want to get rid of their conditioning," such as mothers as well as professionals such as pro athletes as well as TV hosts and therapy professionals. "Freedom is a concern to anyone who wants to be fully expressed," she says.

Since the journeys are offered in English and in English, they draw people all over the globe. "We are a diverse group of people, from every continent, however mostly America, Europe, and Australia," she shares.

Most of her audience is aged between 20 and 50. There are also people in their third stage of life join, and it's not unusual to see her welcome people in their 70s and 80s into her journeys.

The client let her do the talking

With regards to marketing her journeys, Jo says the word was spread via the word of word of.

The homepage on her website, she's added a video testimonial reel. It provides social proof and increases the credibility of her efforts. Plus, website visitors can sign up for the newsletter she sends out on her website. In order to collect emails, she gives two free seminars to attract leads: Stop Trying To Be A Good Actor to Give Yourself the Chance of Being Excellent as well as the Instinctive Actor. In addition to helping assist her in capturing her target audience's information, but they also provide people a taste of her coaching style.

She also posts on her Instagram page, which has more than 10,500 followers--and gets external press by interviews on various podcasts, blogs, and in magazines.

She opted for a price that is affordable.

Jo tries to keep her trips affordable for people, especially as actors typically be in a state of flux with their income. "If you visited an acting class once per week, you'd pay around $300-$400. The majority of time, you'll sit down watching other actors perform scenes and sometimes you're given a turn," she said.

"These online travel options are much less expensive," continues Jo. "The worth of our trips are 10 times more than what we sell them for ."

The Reset costs below $1,000 USD. Purposeful Actor costs $1,250 USD. Membership costs $270 USD per month.

She was in the zone of genius

Even though she is the chief executive officer Of To Be Or Not To Act, Jo is firm in her determination to focus all the time she needs in her area of excellence, which is coaching and making content. Jo doesn't think she's tech-savvy and would much rather stay "in the flow" doing the things she excels at. "The remaining tasks that run a business, isn't something I'm interested in since this isn't my field of expertise" she explains.

Jo credits her success by hiring a coach from in the beginning. In the end, when it came time to design everlasting journeys and she decided to take a chance and enrolled in a class of $20k to help her do it. "It was quite a stretch, and I had to borrow half of the money. But I'm glad that I was able to do it," she shares.

She believes for anyone to create an online business that's successful. But she cautions to be aware that it's not an easy job.

"It is a commitment and determination It's also important to be really passionate about what you're doing. It's what I've ever done since changing jobs in my 20s, and it's what I'll always do. The passion for it is the reason that when it gets tough, I stick with it ."

She was inspired by her heart to create.

The author advises creators of online businesses to be realistic about the hard work that they'll need to create an online business--and recommends that you only take on the task in the case that the subject matter they're presenting is close to their heart.

"The danger now is that the moment you join social networks, you'll find that everyone's an expert and everybody will tell you how easy it is to earn millions of dollars in just a couple of minutes and that's just not true," says Jo. "It is true that if something is that is dear to you it is possible to reach an audience that is bigger than that of your neighbors. But it takes legwork, and it takes falling and getting back up. It takes getting coached and investing your time and cash until the structure is constructed. ."

Just like Jo If you start an enterprise from the heart It will give you the determination to persevere through the hard times.

"An online business isn't just the opportunity to work for some money. It has to be built by your heart, based on the work you're supposed to be doing. In the event that you do not, you'll fall off the ball since it'll feel too hard." she shares.

"If you're really serious then you'll be able to take on the challenge. If you're in the market seeking a quick cash grab it won't be possible to take them on. My advice is to apply what is very dear to you. You have to perform at the highest level in what you do because there's an intense level of competition. You must be able to trust the work you do ."

She remained in integrity with her art

In response to questions about how we can expect to be seeing in 2024 Jo thinks there will continue to be a surplus of programs online. Jo says the primary differentiator between the "McDonald's" courses as well as the "gourmet" courses will be courses that are designed in a way that is honest.

"When there's an abundance of something, there'll exist two different types of online jobs. There will be McDonald's type courses, and then there'll be the high-quality Gourmet courses. Everyone is going to have plans to achieve something or the other with your life that won't come out of a genuine source, and then there are those who have been going at this for years," she says.

For creating the gourmet style of course she suggests you go back to the core.

"There is an incredible opportunity for those who are grounded in their heart wanting to give back," she continues. "The individuals who need your services will find them. ."

"I'm grateful to which enables us to be human for what matters to us. It's incredible."