Jo Franco uses Adobe Acrobat to lead a global journaling movement

Jo Franco is many things: an entrepreneur, a TV host and content creator, and a polyglot. Underlying all these things is her love for communication.

“My passions come together in creating and sharing stories and helping others,” says Franco. “Whether I’m hosting a TV show, leading journaling groups, or learning a new language, finding better ways to communicate and connect with people informs what I do every day.”

Journaling has always been a big part of Franco’s life. Born in Rio, Franco arrived in the United States when she was five. With their mother working long hours, Franco and her siblings spent a lot of time at home. Journaling became an important way for Franco to explore her feelings and cultivate self-awareness.

More recently, her love for journaling became the genesis for JoClub: a diverse journaling community made up of like-minded people committed to investing in themselves and others. JoClub now has members worldwide who gain clarity and self-awareness through guided journaling prompts, group journaling meetings, and transformative retreats.

Turning passions into business

As an entrepreneur running a global business, Franco needs the best tools to help her work efficiently from anywhere. She relies upon Adobe Acrobat to handle all of her documents quickly and securely.

“I want to create content, tell stories, manage teams, and cheer on JoClub members. I don’t have time to deal with mountains of paperwork,” says Franco. “Acrobat helps me transform passions from hobbies into business opportunities.”

Franco always dreamed of working around the world, and with Acrobat, she doesn’t need to choose between staying in the office or traveling. She can run her business from anywhere by using the capabilities to view, edit, and e-sign documents just as easily on desktop or mobile devices.

Starting a global journaling movement

Franco honed her entrepreneurial spirit on a YouTube channel focused on travel and languages. This led to a deal with Netflix to co-host The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals. But right before filming, the COVID pandemic halted travel.

“I thought my career was over,” recalls Franco. “I turned to the one thing that’s sustained me since I was a kid: journaling. But I didn’t realize how that would completely change my life.”

Franco shared a journal entry on social media and she was amazed by the overwhelming positive response. With many people also stuck in their homes, Franco decided to start a 30-day journaling challenge that evolved into JoClub’s online group meetings.

“A lot of people who join JoClub never felt like they fit in, but journaling gives them the confidence that their thoughts and feelings matter,” says Franco. “It’s beautiful watching people realize that their story is worth documenting.”

As the number of JoClub members grew, Franco wanted to streamline her approaches to business, which includes JoClub, the Not Your Average Jo podcast, and books such as the best-selling Fluentish language planner.

With demand for JoClub and her other ventures on the rise, she had to hire employes, close more deals with brand partners, train additional facilitators for live journaling calls, and work with members attending retreats abroad. As part of these processes, Franco works with her lawyer to review any agreement that she receives or sends. They collaborate on documents and add notes using Share for Review in Adobe Acrobat. When agreements are ready for signature, she requests and tracks directly from Acrobat.

“Everything today happens fast, so you can’t waste time navigating a bunch of apps. You need effective tools like Acrobat to keep pace,” says Franco. “It makes a huge difference in what I can accomplish.”

Preserving personal stories

Franco now uses Acrobat for even more areas of her business, such as creating password-protected tax forms. She also uses it for a massive project with personal and professional impact: digitizing thousands of journal pages.

“I have hand-written journals that go back to when I was 12, and they’re a treasure of my history and emotions. It keeps me up at night imagining that they could get destroyed,” says Franco. “Adobe Scan is the answer I was looking for.”

Scanning thousands of pages with a traditional scanner is difficult and time-consuming. Using Adobe Scan mobile app with Acrobat changes everything. Within minutes, she can scan, upload, and organize pages to create an archive for more than a decade of writing.

Branching out into new worlds

Franco has transformed her earliest experiences as a young immigrant in the U.S. focused on creativity and self-expression into a way of life that gives her to freedom to explore and connect with others around the world. Her entrepreneurial spirit has taught her that anything is possible with hard work and the right attitude.

“I always love the chance to make something out of nothing,” says Franco. “It’s exciting to come up with an idea and then bring it to life. For me, it’s a lot about being creative, focused, and finding the right tools to grow and reach others.”

Learn more about Adobe Acrobat and follow Jo Franco on Instagram to see all of her projects.