Justin Montgomery Shares How to Build a High-Profit Education Business Without More Client Work

Law firm owners hit a ceiling faster than they expect. Revenue can look strong, the pipeline can stay full, and the firm can still feel heavy because the owner is the engine behind everything.

In this episode, I spoke with Justin Allan Montgomery, founder of ProCourseStart, about a model that creates an additional income stream without relying on more client matters…a continuing education (CE) business. Justin built and scaled an 8-figure education company and now helps licensed professionals turn their expertise into scalable continuing education businesses without relying on social media hype, funnels, or “guru” tactics. 

Why this matters for law firm owners

Most lawyers have more expertise than they realize. Years of casework, judgment calls, hard lessons, systems, and pattern recognition become valuable intellectual property.

But many attorneys do not see their knowledge as something they can monetize outside of client work. They assume the only way to grow income is to:

• add more matters

• add a new practice area

• work more hours

• hire more people and hope margins hold

A CE business can be a different lane entirely.

The real story from the episode: “I built on sand.”

I shared something personal in this conversation.

I have created courses based on patterns I saw in client conversations…3 people ask the same question and I think, “This should be a course.” I record content, add worksheets, upload it, and announce it.

Justin put language to why that approach often underperforms.

When you skip the foundation, your course might be helpful, but it is disconnected from a clear mission, a clear value proposition, and a clearly defined problem your market urgently wants solved.

Justin’s framework: Build the foundation before you build the course

Justin described building a CE business like building a house.

The foundation is not the platform. The foundation is not your tech stack. The foundation is not “having more content.”

The foundation is your value proposition and the problem you solve.

Step 1: Define your value proposition

Justin framed a value proposition as the value you propose to a specific target market.

For lawyers, this is where many people get stuck because they try to make it too broad. “I teach lawyers how to be better lawyers” is not a value proposition.

A clearer starting point is:

• Who specifically am I helping?

• What specific problem am I solving?

• What transformation does my knowledge create?

Step 2: Anchor the business to a real problem

Justin emphasized a common mistake. People think too much about what they want to teach and not enough about what the buyer urgently needs solved.

His point was simple:

• If there is no meaningful problem, your course will fall flat

• The bigger the problem, the stronger the demand

• Bigger problems can support higher pricing

3 viable audience paths for lawyers building CE

We discussed different directions a lawyer could take, and Justin added a third path that many professionals miss.

Path 1: Teach other lawyers

This is education designed for newer attorneys, lateral hires, or lawyers who want to build or diversify a skill set.

Example concepts:

• starting and managing a firm

• building systems for a specific practice area

• improving risk management and compliance

Path 2: Educate prospective clients

This can be effective for lead generation, but Justin made a key observation…if the course exists mainly to convert clients, you may be creating more work for yourself.

This can still be useful, but it is not always aligned with “stop trading hours for dollars.”

Path 3: Teach other professionals

Justin called this one of the most overlooked and potentially most profitable paths.

Example he gave was a malpractice attorney teaching doctors how to avoid malpractice exposure.

For law firm owners who want income that is not tied to more client matters, paths 1 and 3 often align better.

Why “continuing education” scales faster than coaching or a general course

Justin shared 2 structural reasons CE tends to scale faster for licensed professionals.

Continuing education is required

Licensed professionals need CE or CLE to maintain credentials and keep working. Demand is built in because it is not optional.

Continuing education is often budgeted and reimbursed

Employers frequently provide CE stipends, and continuing education is commonly treated as a business expense. That changes buyer behavior because:

• the expense feels justified

• the funding may not come directly from personal income

• stipends can be use-it-or-lose-it

Justin also mentioned a seasonal pattern…many stipends expire at year-end, which can concentrate purchases in December.

The most common reasons CE businesses stall

Justin broke this into 2 phases.

Why people cannot get started

• analysis paralysis on what to teach

• imposter syndrome

• uncertainty about whether the idea is valuable

• lack of clarity on the steps to create a real CE business

Why people start but get no traction

• the course is not tightly tied to a real problem

• the messaging misses the mark, even when the content is solid

• the marketing approach does not match how the target market actually buys

Does the course platform matter

Justin’s view was direct…students do not care about your platform. They care about the transformation and whether it is easy to access.

The basics usually matter most:

• can the course host videos and resources

• can students log in easily

• can you offer quizzes or certificates if needed

Everything beyond that is secondary.

The “why” behind building a CE business

Justin talked about the business model in terms law firm owners will recognize immediately:

• location independence

• partially passive income, not fully passive

• low overhead

• low liability

• minimal staffing requirements

He also gave realistic effort expectations:

• 80 to 120 focused hours to build the initial version

• 5 to 10 hours per week to keep it operating once built

A note on AI: Your experience still matters

Justin closed with a point that is relevant right now.

AI tools can support brainstorming, drafting, and execution, but they do not replace lived experience…10+ years of judgment, context, failures, and wins.

In continuing education, that is part of what buyers are paying for.