Joseph ( Dr. Joey) Drolshagen, left behind a high-powered corporate career to launch his own coaching business built on the SMT Method—Subconscious Mindset Training. He's seen incredible success helping companies grow, but in this conversation we’re not talking about the wins.
We're digging into one of his biggest flops: a year-long coaching program called Struggle to Soar—designed for men navigating divorce, loss, or career upheaval. He spent over a year building it and more than $50,000 on development and ads. The result? One client. Just one.
And yet, buried in that failure were the seeds of everything he does today.
What Was the Idea? A high-ticket, year-long personal development program tailored to help men rebound after major life disruptions. The concept was born from personal experience and fueled by his passion for mindset transformation.
What Went Wrong? Two things, really:
-
The audience wasn't ready. Joey targeted men, a group far less likely (at that time) to seek out emotional or mindset support.
-
He went big, too soon. Rather than testing the waters with a small group, he dove into the deep end—ads, funnels, course content, the whole enchilada.
What He’d Do Differently: Start small. Joey now knows he could’ve launched with a free Facebook group or a low-commitment mastermind. That would have created a feedback loop, built a real community, and helped him tweak the offer before dropping tens of thousands of dollars.
The Takeaway for Business Owners: Don’t confuse a powerful idea with a market-ready offer. Even the best ideas need the right audience, timing, and delivery method. Before you invest in the big rollout, build a small tribe. Talk to them. Test your concept in real time. Then, scale what sticks.
Or in Joey’s words: “I still believe in the mission. I just needed to serve it up with a side of cheese—something familiar to get them to take that first bite.”
LEARN MORE ABOUT JOEY – https://coachwithjoey.com
GET THE BOOK Book Link: https://a.co/d/8ateFjK
Let's Chat
Sometimes my podcast feels like a one way conversation. Sure I am talking to my guests, but would love to hear from you as well. So if you are a regular listener, or just drop by from time to time I would love to hear from you. Drop a question, marketing tip or idea for an upcoming episode here.
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!