The Proven Entrepreneur

Think the online course industry is dead or flooded with low-quality "gurus"? Think again. In this episode of The Proven Entrepreneur Show, host Don Williams sits down with Justin Allan Montgomery, the founder of Procore Start. Justin pulls back the curtain on a massive, recession-proof loophole in the e-learning space: Continuing Education (CE) courses.While typical online courses face heavy skepticism from buyers who have been burned before, CE courses target licensed professionals who must earn credits every single year to keep practicing. Justin shares his exact blueprint for how he turned a $10,000 investment into an eight-figure business, leading to an early retirement at age 39. If you want a realistic, fluff-free look at what it actually takes to build a highly profitable course business without needing viral videos or millions of followers, this episode is your strategic guide.Topics Discussed1. The Power of Built-In Demand: Why targeting licensed professionals (dentists, lawyers, doctors, electricians) creates a guaranteed market for continuing education.2. The State of the Online Course Industry: How AI-generated content and low-quality courses have burned consumers, and why CE courses remain resilient against this market skepticism.3. The Critical First Week Mistake: The absolute necessity of idea validation and market analysis over immediate course building.4. Audience Building vs. Product Creation: Justin’s framework of prioritizing a small, highly engaged audience over vanity metrics, and how he made $50,000 in seven days with just 3,000 followers.5. The Myth of Passive Income: A brutal truth check on what "passive" actually means, and the reality of the 10-hour workweek.6. Smart Capital Allocation: How to break down a $10,000 startup budget using the 30/70 rule for development versus marketing.7. The Reality of Early Retirement: Why achieving total financial freedom before 40 often leads back to entrepreneurship out of sheer boredom.Entities Mentioned1. Don Williams: Host of The Proven Entrepreneur Show.2. Justin Allan Montgomery: Founder of Procore Start, serial entrepreneur, and education consultant.3. Procore Start: Justin's education consulting company that trains professionals to build CE course businesses.4. The Elite Nurse Practitioner: Justin’s first highly successful CE business focused on nurse practitioners, which achieved an eight-figure exit.5. Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary V): Mentioned by Don regarding his philosophy on the high value of small, dedicated audiences.Ready to dive deeper? You can explore resources, articles, and training programs directly at procorestart.com, or reach out to Justin directly at [email protected] (yes, he answers his own emails!).What specific industry or licensed profession are you thinking about targeting with a continuing education course?

Most business owners assume that spending more money on advertising will automatically generate more leads and revenue.According to Vi Wickam, that's one of the biggest marketing myths entrepreneurs still believe.In this episode of The Proven Entrepreneur Show, Don Williams sits down with Vi Wickam, partner at Wizard of Ads Online, to discuss the realities of Google Ads, digital marketing, brand building, AI, lead generation, marketing transparency, and business growth.Vi shares why Google's goals are often different from a business owner's goals, how agencies can unintentionally create misaligned incentives, why tracking data is never as accurate as most people think, and why trust remains one of the most valuable assets a company can build.Whether you're a founder, entrepreneur, CEO, marketing leader, consultant, coach, or business owner, this conversation offers practical insights that can help you make better marketing decisions and avoid costly mistakes.WHAT YOU'LL LEARNWhy more ad spend doesn't always mean more revenueThe difference between brand keywords and non-brand keywordsCommon Google Ads mistakes that hurt ROIWhy many marketing reports can be misleadingHow trust impacts customer acquisitionThe truth about marketing attribution and trackingWhere AI helps marketers and where it falls shortHow entrepreneurs can break through growth plateausMEMORABLE QUOTES"80 to 90% of your posts should build community.""Your brand keywords can give you 25 to 100X ROI.""If they say pay us and we pay Google, run away."ABOUT THE GUESTVi Wickam is a partner at Wizard of Ads Online, helping businesses align timeless persuasion principles with modern digital marketing strategies. His work focuses on Google Ads, branding, lead generation, business growth, and marketing transparency.

What happens when someone Googles your name—and finds… nothing?In this eye-opening episode of The Proven Entrepreneur Show, host Don Williams sits down with Marina Byezhanova, co-founder of Brand of a Leader and a speaker with Deloitte Academy, to break down one of the most overlooked growth drivers in modern business: personal branding. If you’re a founder, executive, or B2B leader who believes your results should speak for themselves, this conversation will challenge that assumption.Marina reveals why invisibility in search (Google and AI tools like LLMs) is silently costing entrepreneurs clients, partnerships, talent, and authority—and why even highly successful leaders are often under-leveraging their personal brand compared to more visible (but less experienced) competitors.Throughout the episode, you’ll discover:- The hidden financial cost of not showing up online- Why thought leadership now drives visibility in both search engines and AI recommendations- The real reason younger professionals are winning stages, deals, and attention- How authenticity beats perfection, especially in the era of AI-generated content- Why being “humble and quiet” may actually stall your growth- Marina’s powerful comeback story—rebuilding after losing a 7-figure recruitment business during COVIDYou’ll also hear practical insights on LinkedIn strategy, podcast guesting, ghostwriting, handling criticism, and building a brand that is both authentic and scalable.Whether you’re a business owner, consultant, marketer, or executive, this episode is a wake-up call:👉 Your brand is already working—so the real question is, is it working for you or against you?Before you hit play, ask yourself:If someone searched your name today… would they see a leader worth trusting?

What actually separates brands that grow from brands that slowly disappear, even after spending heavily on digital marketing?In this episode of The Proven Entrepreneur Show, Don Williams sits down with Brooke Shepard, founder of Mason Interactive, for a candid conversation about the reality behind modern business growth, digital advertising, customer acquisition, and performance marketing.Brooke has spent nearly two decades helping brands scale through search, social media advertising, SEO, programmatic campaigns, ecommerce strategy, lead generation, and growth marketing. From startup founders to global consumer brands, he has seen what works when companies are trying to grow under pressure, shrinking budgets, investor expectations, and changing digital platforms.The conversation moves beyond surface-level marketing talk and gets into the mindset behind scaling a company in today’s economy. Don Williams and Brooke Shepard discuss why many businesses become obsessed with ROAS, efficiency metrics, and short-term wins while quietly damaging long-term growth potential. They also unpack the difference between cheap leads and profitable customers, the pressure private equity creates inside businesses, and why so many companies continue chasing marketing “growth hacks” that rarely last.Listeners will also hear conversations around AI in marketing, agency leadership, brand trust, company culture, customer loyalty, subscription business models, data-driven advertising, and the balance between automation and human experience.This episode featuring Brooke Shepard and Mason Interactive gives entrepreneurs, CEOs, founders, marketers, agencies, and ecommerce brands an inside look at how real business growth decisions are made behind the scenes.If you are interested in entrepreneurship, digital marketing, business strategy, advertising psychology, scaling brands, or customer acquisition, this is an episode worth adding to your playlist.