ALI Community by Acting Like It · Founding cohort
Your business is a stage. Make sure people remember your performance.
For entrepreneurs & independent business owners
ALI Community is a business communication and performance development community for entrepreneurs and independent business owners. It combines practical business skills with acting techniques — voice, storytelling, presence, improvisation, audience awareness and connection — so members become more confident, compelling and memorable in how they represent themselves and their businesses.
The problem
You're brilliant at what you do. Are people seeing it?
You already have a business and paying customers. But when you're the face of it, how you show up is part of what people buy.
- Feeling natural and confident on camera
- Creating videos that actually capture attention
- Writing hooks and opening lines that make people want to listen
- Explaining what makes your business different
- Telling your story in a compelling way
- Networking and introducing yourself
- Communicating your value without sounding rehearsed or salesy
- Connecting with potential customers
The ALI difference
Business skills meet the art of performance.
“You don't need to become someone else to become more memorable. You need to learn how to bring more of yourself into your business.”
This is not
- A traditional acting class
- A generic social media marketing course
- A motivational membership full of inspirational posts and little practice
- Business coaching focused only on strategy
It's a practical, interactive learning experience: you learn the tools actors use and apply them to real business situations.
What you'll learn and practise
The actor's toolkit, pointed at your business.
Voice
Pace, pitch, pauses and presence — sounding sure of what you're saying.
Storytelling
Your story and your business's story, told so people repeat it.
Presence
On camera, on a call, in a room — showing up as yourself, only sharper.
Improvisation
Thinking on your feet when the conversation goes somewhere unplanned.
Audience awareness
Reading the room and responding to what you actually hear.
Connection
Relationship-based conversations that communicate value without the hard sell.
The eight-week curriculum
Founding cohort, January 2027.
- Week 1
Find Your Voice
Business identity, personal story and communicating your value.
- Week 2
Own the Camera
Video confidence, natural delivery and on-camera presence.
- Week 3
Hook, Line & Sinker
Strong openings, hooks and attention-grabbing communication.
- Week 4
Tell Your Story
Business storytelling and memorable messaging.
- Week 5
Read the Room
Networking, listening and audience awareness.
- Week 6
Improvise!
Thinking on your feet and handling unexpected conversations.
- Week 7
Make the Connection
Relationship-based sales conversations and communicating value.
- Week 8
Make Your Mark
Bringing it all together in a practical business performance.
Every weekly session (about 75 minutes)
- 1
Check-in, business wins and introductions
- 2
A focused business performance lesson
- 3
An acting-based exercise or communication technique
- 4
Member practice, coaching and feedback
- 5
A practical challenge to use in your business that week
Before January
The ALI Head Start
November–December 2026. Included free when you reserve your January place. These are bonus experiences — they don't count toward the eight weeks.
- Weekly practical business communication resources and prompts
- Short exercises and mini-challenges to apply to your own business
- Video, voice, storytelling and networking challenges
- Two complimentary live virtual community meetups
- Early opportunities to connect with the other founding members
Founding membership
What's included
- Eight weekly live virtual cohort meetings, about 75 minutes each
- Recordings for weeks you can't attend (live is strongly encouraged — the practice and feedback are the point)
- Weekly ALI Rehearsal Kits: resources, exercises, prompts and business challenges
- One extended monthly ALI Performance Lab
- Access to the founding member community
- Chances to practise, get feedback, share progress and build business relationships
- Complimentary ALI Head Start access through November–December
Who it's for
Established, relationship-driven business owners.
You're good at what you do and you want to be more visible, confident, engaging and memorable. Not a beginner's course.
- Consultants and coaches
- Realtors and independent professionals
- Home-based business owners
- Direct sellers and independent sales reps
- Creative entrepreneurs
- Service providers
- Small business owners who grow through referrals, networking, social media and relationships
Your coach
Rae-Ann Dillman-Ferland
More than 25 years of acting, over 20 of them professionally in Vancouver. More than 15 years across sales, marketing and business. Over 12 years of teaching and coaching, including founding Dillman Acting Studio.
She created Acting Like It because the craft of acting and the reality of selling turned out to be the same skill set: knowing your audience, telling the story well and being believed. ALI Community brings both to the people who need it most — business owners who are the face of their own brand.
Meet Rae-AnnThe member journey
Three phases.
Phase one · November–December 2026
The ALI Head Start
Included free when you reserve your founding place. Weekly prompts, mini-challenges and two live meetups — bonus experiences that don't count toward the eight weeks.
Phase two · Begins January 2027
The eight-week ALI Community experience
Eight live, interactive virtual meetings with Rehearsal Kits, a monthly Performance Lab and the founding member community.
Phase three · After week eight
Keep your momentum
Two optional next steps: ongoing ALI Community Membership (with preferred pricing for founding members) or Personalized ALI Coaching.
ALI Community Membership
An ongoing monthly membership: weekly prompts and resources, continued exercises, live virtual community experiences, member accountability and monthly ALI Performance Labs. Founding members receive exclusive preferred pricing.
Personalized ALI Coaching
A premium, one-to-one next step: individual sessions, personalized video and camera feedback, voice and delivery work, messaging and storytelling refinement, and sales conversation and presentation practice. Not included in the founding cohort.
Looking for one-to-one now? See individual coaching or workshops for teams.
Questions
Questions about the founding cohort
Founding cohort · Begins January 2027
Reserve your founding seat
Pay in full
$299 CAD
One payment of $299 CAD today. Save $81.
Two payments
$190 CAD × 2
$190 CAD today, then $190 CAD four weeks later. Total $380 CAD.
Includes the free November–December Head Start bonus. No subscription.
Reserve my founding seat