Creative daily

Ten Ways Jo Kelly Coaches People To Be Great Actors - Online

May 4, 2024

Jo Kelly isn't your average acting teacher.

Actually she isn't using the term "teacher" in any way "I don't do anything in the way of teaching people how to act" she says. "I help people not act."

Through exercises that simulate the real world, Jo coaches mainly actors and artists of all kinds, as well as non-artist "seekers" in how to achieve inner freedom and to become their most authentic selves. This way, actors are able to stop performing and begin being. "I like to call myself an acupuncturist more than a coach, because I aid people to return to their truth and get revived," she explains.

She believes the success for an actor is their fulfillment and ability to devote themselves to their character. "When your character is protected in full, the story and the public is affected," she says.

In her unique style of coaching performers, she helps them to tap in to their childhood imagination, fascination and play. The result? They deliver authentic, live, and raw performance.

In the year 2016, Jo transitioned from in-person coaching to develop an online business via . Since then, she's led three consecutive learning journeys and has served over 8,000 people. The group has had amazing successes since they worked with Jo and also have secured roles in some of the biggest studios, including Netflix, HBO, Disney, Showtime, ABC Studios and many others.

Here's how she built an online company doing what she's passionate about:

Skip ahead:

She conducted her own research

Jo had an unusual path into acting.

Born in Belgium Her birthplace was in Belgium. She completed her MBA and then specialized in the field of human resource management as well as the psychology of systems. In the following years, she was involved in corporate coaching. "The corporate environment never felt like my cup of tea," she shares. "I took the decision to leave everything, relocate to Paris to start afresh. ."

One of the reasons she decided to start over was trying her hand at acting, which she fell in the love of. She was a hard-working, passionate person, and put all of her energy and resources in acquiring the skills to be the most effective actor she could possibly be.

Despite her dedication to her craft, she says she was a decent actor but not a top actor. Much like the majority of actors, she suffered from stage fright. "Most of my actors suffered from the same issue," she says. "We had all been so passionate, but when it was time to play, we were afraid ."

The actress was curious to know the factors that prevented herself and others from being the best actors. "My curiosity became an obsession," She says. "I would like to understand what drives actors to be so devoted and passionate decrease when the time comes to perform. ."

In the following years, she investigated how actors could feel trapped. The research she conducted led her to the conclusion that when kids are playing, they're in control. While when adults are playing the same way, they've been deprived of their independence due to societal conditioning. "When I realized this I took the remainder of my days helping actors overcome their stereotypes to allow them to perform and show their true selves and have that youthful energy they used to have," explains Jo.

She began her coaching

Jo's experiential research led her to study different somatic tools and practices, which she then 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.

Soon, she realized that her students were lacked accountability. "No no matter how dedicated my colleagues were, they couldn't be expected to show up everyday. Even if we met every week three times but there was no accountability in-between sessions. The ball would be dropped without a problem if they were not with me." Jo explains. Jo.

She decided that online courses would help people to stay consistent with the way they practice. She refers to her online classes to be "journeys," and the one she first guides students to 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 an entire 33 days," she explains.
 "Since the site is online, users are able to do this on their own time and create their own schedules."

It's Jo's belief that we are born with a true essence, and then our society's conditioning forces that we behave as we think, feel, and act the way we do. According Jo, the aim the purpose of The Reset is for people to go through daily exercises to help them get rid of their conditioning and return to their original instincts. Every day, in The Reset, Jo offers recorded exercises. Additionally, she offers two Q&A sessions and two group work via pods, and a second semi-Q&A in which 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 lessons at any time at any time, whether they awake, before they go to bed and whenever they find free time during the day. "The greatest thing is that they can make them fit in with their daily routines," she explains.

She created an online company which gave her the flexibility to lead a lifestyle

When Jo first began her website Reset adventure, she was running every single session held through her site. A couple of years later, she switched to after being encouraged to join Reset through her trainer. "You guys know exactly what you're doing and I'm not," she chuckles.

Since moving into the online coaching space Jo's life has been transformed. In the moment of her interview with us, she called from the hospital, where she was with her daughter. "Eight years ago my baby was born carrying a genetic condition and is in need of hospital visits each month," she shares.

" allows me to be a mother and manage the rest of my family while also keeping my business going, even when I'm in hospital, while my daughter is receiving her regular transfusions," she continues. "Working online lets me take care for my child in the way that I want to and stay in her home all the time to her. I can go to hospital for medical needs but still be able to pursue a job I am passionate about without it being stressful ."

She created subsequent journeys

When people are done with The Reset, they have the option of entering the three-month course called The Purposeful Actor. This journey offers a weekly 3 hour session over 12 weeks. "The students in this class are a little more independent when it comes to responsibility and proving themselves. There are some routines to follow every day, but they can't rely on me to accomplish it; they have to come up with their own goals, and that is what the purpose." Jo shares.

Jo also offers Q&A sessions throughout The Purposeful Actor journey and each week for three weeks. After having finished the journey for their Purpose, they have the opportunity 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 individuals who completed these two walks wanted to pursue their training on this pathway," she says.

The membership has been running for four years and the membership includes a one-hour content session a month as well as group activities through weekly pods, monthly Q&A session with Jo, and a six-hour summit once every three months. "The membership allows people to determine how they're going to go out into the world, do what they're meant to be doing, to connect with industry professionals, write their own content, and improve their game," she explains.

She coached performers of all types

According to Jo she believes that the majority of her clients during her work include actors. But there are different kinds of artists like writers, dancers, storytellers, and singers, along with regular people who "want to get rid of their physical limitations," such as mothers as well as professionals such as pro athletes, 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 the journeys attract travelers from all over the globe. "We get people from all continents, but most of them are from America, Europe, and Australia," she shares.

The majority of her listeners are between the ages of 20-50. There are also people in their third stage of their lives, and it's not unusual for her to welcome those who are in their 70s or 80s into her journeys.

Her clients did the talking

When it comes to marketing her journeys, Jo says the word has spread mostly via word of word of.

The homepage on her website, she's embedded an online testimonial reel. This adds social proof and adds credibility to her efforts. Visitors to her website can sign up for the newsletter she sends out on her site. To gather emails, she gives two free seminars as lead magnets such as Stop TRYING TO BE A Good Actor To Give You The Chance To Be Great and The Instinctive Actor. In addition to helping assist her in capturing her target audience's information, but they also provide people a taste of how she coaches.

She also has an Instagram page -- which boasts more than 10,000 followers--and gets external press by interviews on various podcasts, blogs and magazines.

She picked a value-for-money price

Jo tries to make her journeys affordable for people, especially since actors tend to be in a state of flux with their income. "If you attended an acting school once per week, you'd pay around $300 to $400. Mostly, you sit and watch other people do scene and occasionally you're given a turn," she says.

"These online trips are much less expensive," continues Jo. "The value of our journeys are 10x what we sell them for ."

The Reset costs less than $1,000 USD. The Purposeful Actor cost $1250 USD and membership costs $270 USD per month.

She never left her area of the greatest genius

Although she's the chief of To Be Or Not To Act, Jo is firm in wanting to only spend more time with her inner creativity, which is in coaching and writing the content. Jo isn't tech-savvy preferring to stay "in the flow" doing her best work. "The other aspects in running a company isn't something I'm interested in since it's not my area of expertise," she explains.

Jo says her success is due by hiring a coach from early on. As she was ready to create evergreen journeys, she took a risk and enrolled in a class of $20k to learn how to do it. "It was a big stretch that required me to take on a loan of half the amount. It was a good thing I was able to do it," she shares.

She believes for anyone to create an online business that's successful. However, she warns people that it's not easy.

"It is a commitment and determination It's also important to feel passionate about the work you're working on. In my case, this is all I've done since switching jobs in my 20s, and it's what I'll always undertake. It's because of this passion 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 effort they'll invest in building a successful online company. She also suggests you only take on the task if the topic they're teaching is a subject that's near to their heart.

"The danger now is that the moment you join social networks, you'll find that everyone's a coach and everyone is selling you how possible you can make millions in two minutes, and that's just not true," says Jo. "It is true that if you have something that is dear to you and you want to share it with people who are bigger than the people in your local area. However, it requires effort and it takes falling and then getting up. You need to be coached, and investing your time and cash until the structure is built ."

As Jo, when you build your business with passion It will give you the determination to persevere through the tough times.

"An online company isn't merely the opportunity to work for some money. It must be constructed by your heart, based on the work you're supposed to be doing. If you don't, you'll drop the ball because it will be too difficult to handle." She explains.

"If you're on purpose then you'll be able to take on the challenge. If you're looking to make a quick buck, you won't be able to accept these challenges. The best advice I can give is to stick with what is very dear to your heart. It is essential to perform at the highest level in your job because you're facing a high level of competition. You must be able to trust the work you're doing. ."

Her integrity was maintained with her craft

When asked about online course trends we may observe in 2024, Jo believes there will be to be a surplus of online programs. She says that the main difference between "McDonald's" classes and "gourmet" courses will be the ones that have been designed in a way that is honest.

"When there's an excess of stuff, there'll be two types of online work. There'll be McDonald's kind of courses. Then there will be the reliable and gourmet classes. Everyone is going to have an agenda to accomplish this or that with your life, but it won't be from a place of integrity And then there are those who've been at this for years," she says.

For creating the gourmet style of course, her recommendation is to go back to the core.

"There is incredible potential for those who are grounded in their soul and aspires to help others," she continues. "The people who will need what you have to offer will find that you ."

"I'm grateful to which enables us to bond as human beings with what is important to us. It's incredible."