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Welcome back to another inspiring episode of Invest in Yourself, the digital Entrepreneur podcast, where I am, of course, your host, Phil Bennett, the podcast mogul. I'm going to showcase some extraordinary stories of courage, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Today we an amazing guest whose journey is a testament to faith, determination and a power of storytelling. Today's guest is a talented screenwriter thriving in the faith based film industry. With her husband Jeffrey, they're on her unwavering partner in not just business, but in life. This dynamic duo made the bold decision to sell everything and leave Canada behind to pursue their shared dream, creating the Faith and Family Filmmaker Association. Living as digital nomads, they've built a thriving enterprise that equips and empowers filmmakers passionate about telling stories with a Christian worldview. Their journey began with the launch of a screenwriting academy, followed by a podcast that amplifies their mission.

Now their business has expanded to offer valuable networking opportunities, uniting creatives to produce impactful faith driven films. Get ready for an episode that's filled with inspiration, faith and entrepreneurial wisdom as we dive into their remarkable story. So please welcome to the show the Visionary, one of the visionary members of the team behind the Faith and Family Filmmakers Association, Jacqueline Witt. Jacqueline, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

I am excited to chat with you because one, I'm a. I'm a film buff, so like already, boom. I'm your best friend in that regard because I love anybody who's helping produce films. So good films, let's just say that. But I'm curious, I want to know what made you decide, like, first of all, selling everything, jumping into the digital nomad land, that's kind of crazy. Not going to beat around that bush because it's true. Most people would be like, what are you doing?

Yeah, we got a lot of that.

Yeah, I can only imagine what made you decide, hey, we're gonna go as digital nomads. Throw off the regular 9 to 5 structure that society has built into us here in Canada and just pack it up in an RV and just take off. What made you guys decide that?

Well, a lot of it came down to timing. You know, like, my husband and I had plans that once the kids were finished school and, you know, heading out into their adult life, that we wanted to do something that was for us. And we actually wanted to out of the Vancouver area, which is where we were living, because it's extremely expensive there. But, you know, we stayed there so that the kids could have their, you know, stability in their childhood, that they could have the same friends, go to the same schools and. And all of that. So. So, you know, it was a choice that we made to wait. However, we weren't necessarily waiting so that we could move out of the country.

We were thinking maybe Alberta or something. But then after everything happened in, you know, 2020, without getting into all of the detail that happen in Canada, we just kind of felt like May, maybe another country might be a good option, you know, so it kind of became a bit of a joke with some friends and I, or, or like my husband and I. So for a few months we kind of tossed around the idea as if it was like, oh, just some dream we'd never pursue. And then we started to actually look at the reality of May, maybe we actually could do this. And so then we kind of got to the point where we thought, you know what? Yeah, let's. Let's do it. So we research trees and we decided on Mexico because my children from my first marriage have family there. And so it just seemed like it would make sense, it'd be a good fit.

And then when they came to visit, they could visit their family and, you know, stuff like that. So. So we decided on Mexico. But here's. Here's the thing. So I did speak some Spanish. My husband did not speak a word. He knew pleasantries and, you know, manners.

That's about it.

Hi. Buy beer if you need that kind of.

Please. Thank you.

Yeah, the general. The bare minimum.

Exactly. Yes. And. And I'd never even been to Mexico or a Spanish speaking country, so even the Spanish that I did know, I wasn't even sure if I knew enough to get by. But this is like, again, it's that journey of faith where we're like, we really feel like this is what we're supposed to be doing. Also because my husband was working a physical job and he was getting older and his body was very tired and he needed to do something else. And I really wanted to be a Full time writer. At that time, I was a caregiver.

I cared for individuals in our home that had disabilities. And so, you know, it was a full time job. So writing was something I only got a few hours a week in and whenever I had an actual project, then I had to, you know, ask someone else to take over my job so that I could do this other job. And so I thought if we go to Mexico, I could be a full time writer and then Jeff can start his business. And then it turned out that when we got here and he started building it, I just had a ton of ideas. And so we, we just dove into the whole thing together.

That's amazing. When you got set up and you decided to create this academy and you know, you chose a specific niche you like, we're going to stay with our faith because that's something we know and you gu. Cherish and obviously it helped you build your family and all that. Was there any pushback? Because it is, I don't want to say it's ostracized because it's not. It's. It's. You're. You're really narrowing the niche down.

Yeah, very.

Some people would be like, as a filmmaker, that's kind of like limiting your, your, your opportunities for the bigger higher ups to go for it. Did you have pushback for it or was it more? There was a lot for it.

I think that the people who were in the industry understood the need for it. And then other people around us that maybe didn't understand the industry, you know, they were a little bit confused because, you know, I was actually just starting my screenwriting journey in, in a professional sense. I had studied screenwriting for decades, but I, I was raising my kids and I decided, I'll pursue that after I'm finished raising my kids. And so it was a choice that I made. And so then when I came in, it's like there was kind of this overnight success type thing that happened, but it wasn't without years of preparation. So what I realized though is that like, we want to, we want to help get the types of movies that we want to watch, we want to get them produced. But the other thing is, I'll just address the elephant in the room. A lot of people would say that Christian films have either they're preachy or they're cheesy or they're unrealistic or, I mean, not all of them.

There are some that are definitely, you know, improving, especially the ones that are based on a true story. I mean, how do you Argue with that. That's what happened. Right. But you know, a lot of the, the narrative fiction stories there, there were some issues, you know, within that particular genre. And so what I wanted to do originally we started supporting screenwriters where I wanted to teach writers. This is how you write a story that has a message and not an agenda. Right.

This is how you write something that's compelling, that has real character journeys, something that draws people in so that we get away from that preachiness and we, you know, we, we move into something that is going to be compelling whether somebody believes the same way that we do or not. That they could enjoy it the same way that like I'm not a spy, but I can enjoy a spy movie. Right?

Yeah, it's like. Because that would be a very limited number of people who would enjoy spy movies if that was the case.

Yeah, exactly.

Okay, so now that you've kind of like addressed that elephant and laid it to rest in essence that you're, you're not looking to make those preachy movies anymore. Because as someone who, who doesn't, who enjoys movies, Christian movies can be like you said, preachy and it, it's off putting or they have this very like monotone structure to it. And of course I'm not talking about based on a true story. Those ones, like you said, how can you argue with a true story whether it's a Christian based or a non Christian based story. But when it comes to just the regular movies, they seem like you said, kind of preachy. There, there's an agenda. You, you don't feel like you're there to be entertained, you're there to be lectured at the pulpit in E. And I want to know, with you studying screenwriting for decades, what were some of the lessons that you were able to glean from non faith based films and their scripts and their screenwriting that you were able to adapt into more faith based films to make them less preachy pulpit and more entertaining to the masses.

But strictly have that message for those who are. It's really geared towards.

Yeah, you know, one of the, the biggest things is characters need to be relatable not necessarily in the details, but in the journey. I mean we all have got to, we've had to deal with things where like certain emotions, whether it be disappointment or regret or you know, like all of these things, it's a universal kind of experience in life. And so if we try to create a story that's based on details rather than a journey, then that's where that disconnect is and, you know, so everybody, when you go to watch a movie, you are actually wanting an emotional experience and to kind of live vicariously through someone else for. For a while. Right. And so if you don't create that journey that has that compelling emotional experience and that the character arc where the, the character starts one way and ends another way, like, you need to see that journey and the journey itself has to make sense. Like, they can't just all of a sudden, in the end, they've learned something and changed and there was no reason why. Like, that's not relatable.

We don't just wake up one morning and say, you know what? This addiction I've had for 20 years, it's just not working for me.

Yeah, I'm done with that.

I'm done. Like, nobody does that. Right. There has to be things that happen in their life that lead them to this concl where they realize if I don't do this, I am done for. Like, people change when there's literally no other choice. Right? Yeah.

You're, you know, rocking a hard place.

Yeah, yeah. Creating that, that opportunity for people to grow authentically because they've been challenged and they've been pushed and they've had to learn hard lessons. That's where you get that compelling journey and that compelling story where it doesn't matter if you can understand or agree with the person's perspective in life. You can understand and, and enjoy that journey and that struggle.

I love it. Because that is right. You're. You're trying to turn the, the, the negative that some people have on Christian films because like you said, preachy pulpit type things. And we're trying to change the narrative because there are some great stories that should, and there are many great screenwriters that just need the help to be able to create those films that are entertaining to both non Christians and Christians alike. And since you're helping grow the film industry and change that face and the other unique challenges in reaching those mainstream, what are, what are other things you're doing to help filmmakers craft stories that are both compelling and commercially viable?

Good question. Yeah. And we are actually going beyond just screenwriters. We've moved into supporting everyone in the industry, like producers and actors and, you know, everybody in between. So education is a big part of it. We provide, like, we bring in people who are good at what they do. Like, I do teach some screenwriting classes, but I also bring in other screenwriters where it's like they, they have proven themselves that they know how to do this well. And we bring Them in to teach some workshops.

And then same for producers and actors. And like, I'm in the process of developing a. An education course for first ads. First assistant director is like a really integral part to production. And so for people to learn how to do their job well. And that's, that's our whole thing for 2025 is all of our members, it's like, let's get everybody up to the next level of whatever it is they're pursuing. Wherever level they're at right now, let's move them up to the next one. Because we want to always be pursuing excellence.

We don't want to just say good enough because again, another elephant in the room. Especially since most Christian films are independent films, then, you know, it also falls in that category of a lot of independent films don't have great production value. And so. But the thing is, independent films are like taking the world by storm right now. Right? They're just everywhere. And it's fantastic. I love it. And a lot of quality is improving all the time.

So that's. That's the other thing that we want to bring forward is not just improving the storytelling, but the production value as well. And then we also have networking opportunities where we can bring people together so they can meet each other. Because it is an industry that it's not only niche, we're kind of spread out all over the place. And so in order for us to find each other so we can work together, you know, we need this networking opportunity. And then, of course, like you mentioned before, we have a podcast, and that introduces a lot of really great players that are making amazing things and they can share their journey and share their insights so that whether people have the money to invest in education or not, they can get some information during the podcast.

Speaking of the podcast, and I'm glad that you brought it up and I didn't have to shoehorn the podcast in as the podcast. It's kind of my job to talk about a podcast. What made you guys decide to add the production of a podcast to your play? Because, let's be honest, this is the easy part of any podcast, chatting to someone.

Right? Right.

So easy. Basically, like the best part of my day. Some people wonder how I can do for a day. I'm like, it's easy. It's the after. The pre and the after.

Yes.

Production. That's the work. Given that you're a filmmaker and you work in the film industry, you understand that the filming part of a movie is the easy part, pretty much where the pre and the post is that's.

Where all you've done your job well beforehand, then your production goes well. Yeah, yeah.

If the pre production is great, the production's gonna be smooth sailing with mini bumps just like anything in theory. In theory. Everything here is in theory. We've all had episodes that haven't been great. But how, like it's another job on top of it. What made you decide, hey, we have this faith based film academy going. Let's just throw on something else onto our plate because we're not juggling enough.

We got bored one day.

Y. Like you, like, just like you said, we just changed overnight. Like, what made you decide to.

Well, it's funny, that was an overnight decision. Okay. We were about a year or so into the film academy, we were realizing, I mean, the screenwriting academy, we were realizing, okay, actually we want to make it into a filmmakers association. And so we knew we were going in a bigger direction and we happened to go to a networking convention for entrepreneurs. And so that's the other thing that I also think that we did well was we did approach it as a business. And so we did get mentors that helped us to learn how to do certain things. We went to conventions and networked with other entrepreneurs. And so we've learned a lot of business skills and I think that that's a big part of why we've been able to get to where we are.

But while we were at this convention, this man, Michael Silvers came to us and he is, at the time he was starting up a podcast division for the LA Tribune. And so we were the first people that decided, yes, let's, let's be part of this podcast network. And. And then from there it's grown. And. And then they. Before they officially launched, what they did was they gave training to all of the people who were starting podcast. Some people already had podcasts and so that was great.

They were already on a roll. But for those of us that you know, the podcast decision happened overnight. I was very for the training. And so this is where having a, a business partner comes in handy because we looked at our schedules and we're like, okay, so how much time can we put into this? And so how much time can I. How much time can he. And so then we decided, okay, we can make this work. Because, you know, I do, I mostly book the people, like all of the organizing who's going to be on the podcast, and then we'll either interview them together or one of us will interview them and then he does the editing and the publishing and, and then he'll, you know, put the, all the, do.

All the magical technical stuff.

Yeah, yeah.

Production. You do the pre. He does the post. And you as a team, you tag team the production.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's kind of very much how we approach the business anyways. He really does take care of all the business side of things. And I'm kind of like the face out there like here right now. I'm on your podcast. You know, he's in the other room working on other business stuff that has to get done. He started technical stuff. You're like, yeah, I'm the artist.

I get to go out there and just talk to people.

He's your muse and you're the artist. I love it. That's, that's, that's a great partnership that you have. And I want to touch on that because it does take. When you start a business with a partner, you need to be able to know where one person is weak, where. And the other person can support whether they're stronger in the department or that that place is, it's may be slightly stronger. So they'll, they'll take it on. When you and Jeffrey got together because you, I, you have the previous marriage, you know, you're obviously, you understand your faults and that and you, you come in with Jeffrey.

Was, was it something that was easy for you to. When you started the working together? Obviously. Was it easy for you guys to work together because of the, the work you've done with the relationship, raising kids. Because that's a business. Raising kids to a degree.

It is, yeah.

Right.

And you know, but I would say, okay, I, I know where you're going and it, there's a huge adjustment. But I'll tell you, we actually had like a massive adjustment because we didn't just decide to go into business together. We literally sold everything, quit our day jobs, moved to Mexico and started a business. And not only that, even just if you think about how much time you spend with your spouse during the week. Right. So when we were in Canada, he was working a full time job outside the house and I was working a full time job inside the house. So we'd see each other in the morning and the evening and then we moved to Mexico and it's like, he's always.

Like, I was going to get there eventually. That was a question.

Yeah, yeah, it was an adjustment. Right?

Like you didn't just decide to work together. Like you decided to take on the stress of selling everything that wasn't like, like Mary Cuomo says, like, didn't bring you joy. Get rid of and then transport it all the stress of transporting it all down to a different country where one of you can barely pass, can ask where the bibliotheca is, and probably that's about it. The other one isn't too sure on how.

I actually, I was so glad when we got here. I was like, oh, I remember more than I realized because I had actually learned Spanish 20 years ago, and so I hadn't really used it very much in between then. And so I was like, wow, I know how to order food, I know how to ask for directions, and I know how to understand the answer.

Like that. That's so, like, for you, there was a less the stress kind of drop. But, like, you guys took on a lot of stress, and then you're like, why not just throw on the stress of building a business together? And now we're working 20, nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week together.

Like, we were empty nesters. Like, so, yeah, like, what the hell changed overnight? Yeah, literally.

How. How did that. Like, how do. Apart from obviously faith being a strong factor in doing this, what other things.

We had the same vision. I think that's a really important piece, right? Like, we. We did have the. The same goal and vision, and so we were moving in the same direction. We also went into it knowing that, like, we were expecting that we would have to make some adjustments. I mean, I don't know that we really thought about the adjustment that it would be for our marriage. Like, with all of that change, we knew we're moving to another country. And so ob.

Obviously there's going to be an adjustment for the culture and everything. And, you know, so we kind of went into it with that. But I think that we. We ended up having, you know, struggles and tension and having to work things through. But then I think we got to a point where it occurred to us, like, wait a minute, everything has changed. Of course this is stressful. Okay? Like, well, let's just try to give each other a break as much as we can. And, you know, and some days we're better than others.

But, you know, we understood, like, well, this is why we're here, you know, and if we, like, even on a bad day, if we stop and say, well, should we just pack it up and go back home? And the answer is always, no, no, it's just a bad day. So we just keep going.

There's not a bad enough day to decide to come back to Canada. And until that day, Happens. We'll see. It must be a really bad day. But and I love that like you guys acknowledged that there was a messed up situation. Because it's a messed up situation. It's a change of life. And that I guess because you guys, you realize the changes and you were able to take that step back and see the forest instead of the tree.

Was that something that you had previously learned by investing in yourself or was it something that took time for you to realize if that both of you, obviously I'm asking from your perspective, but it's a two person tango in this situation. And then how did you go off to invest in yourself to become a better version of yourself? So was obviously realizing and being able to step back, was that something you invested in yourself to learn or was that something that you had to learn?

I think it is something that I did learn over time. And same for him. I mean, it's not like we're in our 20s, I'm in my 40s, and he just turned 60 recently. And so we have lived some life where we've gone through stuff and had to kind of step back and, you know, compose ourselves and, and regroup and figure out, okay, how do I get through this? Right? And so there is some of that. And then again, like you mentioned our faith, at the end of the day, like, our perspective is that our job is to do the best that we can with what we're given, and then the rest is up to God. And so we can get to that point where we can feel like, I am exhausted, I've done all I can do, and it seems like it's still not quite enough. But I have to let that go because I have to trust that that's not my responsibility. Right.

Like, I can only do my best. After that, it's up to God.

So yeah, it's up. Up to who? The universe, God, whatever you want to call it? Because like you said, it's I can do only before it's out of my hands. How do you go about investing in yourself? I take it that daily prayer or daily prayer is something that's important to you. Outside of that daily prayer and commitment to your faith, what do you do to invest in your skills to become a better version of yourself being an entrepreneur, screenwriter, whatever, what have you?

Yeah, yeah. And actually it's good that you brought that up because there are two things that you have to invest in yourself with. One, you have to learn those actual skills that are, you know, that's what you're pursuing. But then Those soft skills that will help you to become the person you need to be in order to pursue the thing. And so, yeah, we do on both sides. I, I like listening to podcasts like, you know, like this. You can learn so much. Also, we've got some books.

We've met people at the, you know, the, the different conventions that we've been to where, you know, listening to life stories and other people's life experience things that they've learned. I mean, mentors are, am. They've already been where you want to go. So like, we definitely, we have mentors and we do have people where we have said like, we, we really value your opinion. If you ever see anything going on that we are doing that causes you concern, please check in and address that with us. And so we've got some accountability. And so it's kind of like we've created some safety nets. So as we're pursuing this, we, we're not, not alone.

And I think that, that, that is really helpful. But yeah, education especially, I found actually as I am mentoring other people and educating them, it forces me to better educate myself because I need to understand the why behind what I'm teaching. And not just teaching the details, because if anybody has a question, I need to be able to answer it.

Yeah, that, that, that is a huge one. Knowing the why behind the why. So with your education going forward, learning different things, you know, becoming a better version of yourself. I want to jump 10 years in the future. I always like looking 10 years in the future. I have a big 10 year goal that eventually one day I'll share, but until I get asked that question, I'm not gonna share. But where do you see yourself? Where do you see the fa. F.

F. Sorry, the Faith and Family Filmmakers? There you go. Faith and Family Filmmaker Association. Where do you see the. The business? Where do you see your career? Where. Where do you want to be in like 10 years?

Yeah, okay. I definitely want to be producing films. I have discovered, at least at this point, I would like to write and be an executive producer. I don't think that I have the personality to be on set regularly. And I think that's really important to know who you are and what your personal is and what works for you and what doesn't. Especially the more that I learn about all the different roles on set, the more that my brain wants to explode. And so, so I realized, like, I love being the visionary and I love starting momentum and then I love passing it off to people that are excited to make it happen. So at, at least at this point, that's what I want.

And so 10 years from now, I would like to have at least five of my films produced and having either gone to theatrical release or streaming. But I'd like them to be out there. And I really am excited about the idea that I get to help make other people's careers happen. You know, like I am connecting people. Part of my job is to connect people, bring them together. And when I do that and then I see that they're like flourishing and their career is taking off because I help them to make a connection like that. I'm so excited about that. So I'm, I can't even imagine what's going to be happening 10 years from now.

I love it and I love, just as you were talking, your eyes sparkling, I saw the vision happen for you. So I have no doubt that a minimum of five of your films will be produced. I can I see it within the next 10 years and I would love for you to, once the fifth one is done, give us a call. You're coming back on the podcast. We'll talk all about it because I want to learn more about how you grew over those five films. But we are getting to the end of the episode, which I hate because I'm having a great time with you, Jacqueline, I hope you are having a great time.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

But we're going to jump back to your 10 year old self here. We went 10 years in the future, now we're going back to 10 year old. Jacqueline. What's one piece of advice you would love to hand back to your 10 year old self that you never got when you were 10?

Don't be in such a rush. I was very much an ADHD rushing kind of person. Got to do this, got to do that, and you know, hands and so many things. In some ways it may have served me, but I think that I would have enjoyed it more if I had slowed down, you know, taken the time to really enjoy it.

I love that we all need that. We all need to slow down every once in a while and smell those flowers that are around our path as we go through our forest of life. Jacqueline, I'm going to jump off stage here. I want you to let my audience know where they can connect with you if they would like to be part of the FA F association or if they want to just follow you and learn more about you. So the floor is yours.

Thank you. So, yeah, I'm the co director of Faith and Family Filmmakers association and you can find us@faf association.com it's free to create a membership. So if you are someone who is in the film or the faith based film industry or you would like to be, that's a great place to start. I'm on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. You can just type my name and you will find me Jacqueline Witt. And Jacqueline does not have a K. I have an odd spelling. But if you are a writer, producer, actor, anywhere, any role in the the faith based film industry or even family friendly, a lot of what we do, it's not just faith based, it's also family friendly.

That great opportunity for you to meet people like minded and you know, dive into your career, get to the next level.

I love it. Jaclyn, thank you very much for being here. It was a pleasure having you and I enjoyed our talk greatly.

Thank you. I enjoyed it too.

Excellent. To my audience, I want you to take a look down in the show notes. Down below you'll see the link to everything for Jacqueline and the family and Faith and Family Film Association. Did I get it right?

Close enough. Filmmakers, but yeah, filmmakers. Ah, it is a mouthful. We had such a hard time naming it and was like, no, we got to come up with something shorter and we're like, maybe people will just start calling it faf.

Faf. There we go, the FAF Association. If you're looking to join the FAF association, it's down below in the links and you can connect with Jacqueline and Jeffrey Witt there as well. I thank you very much for being here. Thank you, Jacqueline, for being an amazing guest and remember to always invest in yourself.

Thanks for joining us on Invest in Yourself, the digital entrepreneur podcast. The podcast mogul reminds you that your journey to freedom and success starts with one powerful move. Investing in yourself. If today's episode sparked your fire, hit that follow button on Spotify and drop us a comment. Share your wins, your challenges, and what drives you to break free from the corporate grudge. Remember, you're your best investment. Always invest in yourself because your potential is limitless. Until next time, keep hustling and take control of your destiny.