The house that Jo built: Life lessons with Jo Franco

Jo Franco, founder of journaling business JoClub, has realized that building an online community is the exact same as for an offline community. “Our membership is a house. If I'm a content creator, I have a plot of land and I'm throwing block parties as often as I post content,” she starts.

“If I'm throwing a weekly block party, that's the weekly YouTube video I'm dropping. Or if I'm doing reels on Instagram or TikTok, those are coffee breaks for my neighbors. But when you build a house, it takes much more effort: you have to build a strong foundation.” For years she has been building “a sturdy foundation of a community where there's trust baked in: they want to knock on the door and walk in.”

She believes you have to greet online members just the same as somebody who came into your house. “The best hosts do this so well. It's giving them space to take their coats off and ask questions or saying, ‘Here's where you put the shoes. Can I take your bag for you?’. We offer a solid email sequence and onboarding videos. At the end of our journaling sessions, we'll stay on for new members to hang out and ask questions. There is real-time communication with the members.”

She mentions that new members need to feel there are people listening. “We make it clear: where do they go for help? When stuff breaks, who do they email? How fast can they expect a response? All of those things create a better process.”

Focus on what you're good at

If she could do it all again, would she do anything differently? “There are things I took too long figuring out,” she recalls. She lists marketing copywriting and technology as two skills she wishes she had mastered before. “Just because you can write – and I journal all the time – does not mean you know the art of copywriting. I hired so many tech people thinking they would help but they over-complicated things.”

Perhaps more importantly, she learned how to spend her time most effectively. “Instead of focusing on what I'm good at, I was focusing on what I don't know and stumbling my way through, making mistakes.”

In true Jo Franco style, though, she has used the experience as an opportunity to grow rather than complain. “It's a lesson in ‘Where are you most impactful? What can only you do that you cannot outsource?’. I should have brought on a business partner to fill the gaps outside my zone of genius of creating content and inspiring others.”

She continues: “I've painfully learned two years’ worth of skills I did not have. Now, I know enough of the ‘language’ (of tech, copywriting, or business) to know when someone's taking advantage of me, but I also know enough to know that this is not the best use of my time anymore. I'd rather split the pie and move mountains with what I am good at – videos, events – and trust somebody to take care of the tech that holds me back.”

Building the house; expanding the empire

In the future, Jo wants to expand JoClub into an overarching business brand but with “different wings” – staying true to the house analogy. “The main wing of the house is always going to be the JoClub that people know today: wellness, journaling and self-awareness,” she explains.

Jo recently launched JoClub Fluent, a language-learning wing with two sessions a month that uses journaling to develop language skills. In two years, she also wants to launch an entrepreneur wing where attendees use the self-awareness skills gained from a JoClub session to develop creative ventures.

“It's not only a school of thought where you remove your worries; JoClub is a mental gym – people leave feeling exercised. They feel like they've reflected. I want to keep that essence but also give people tangible tools to, for example, start a journaling podcast. Before we even get into business, we’ll do self-awareness work because that's at the core of every strong foundation.”

Jo has also hosted six journaling and wellness retreats worldwide, “I started organizing and hosting transformative journaling retreats in 2022 that have happened all over the world! This year, I launched the first Career & Calling retreat to help entrepreneurs align their passion with their purpose in a stunning pink castle on a Greek island. All the retreats are life-changing, but now I’m focusing on different topics; in 2025 I plan to launch language learning retreats.

Retreats are a way to bring JoClub’s online goodness to life in a location the retreaters might have never gone to otherwise. She’s now expanding into career retreats, sharing “how you can align your business to live a more fulfilling life,” and cultural retreats to service the language part of the business and realize her personal ambitions.

“I love business. I love introspection, self-awareness, and self-development. And I love languages. But it's hard. If I were to look for a job that would ‘scratch all of those itches,’ I'd never find it. So I have to build it! Even though it's going to take a lifetime, I will chisel away brick by brick until everything is built. That's what's exciting!”

More information

To learn more about Jo Franco and become a JoClub member, go to joclub.world.