31 JUL 2025
I Love Teaching. Here’s Why I Say No to 99% of Teaching Gigs
I get this question a lot: “Razy, you’re a natural teacher. Why don’t you teach at more places?”
On the surface, the logic makes sense. More platforms, more visibility, more impact.
But for years, I’ve been incredibly selective about where I stand in front of a classroom. My primary teaching partner is Equinet Academy, and that is a deliberate choice.
The truth is, teaching isn’t just a side-gig for me. It’s a high-cost endeavour. It’s not one single thing, but a series of trade-offs.
Here are the seven distinct reasons I protect my ‘yes’.
1. Every Class is a Performance
I don’t “do” lectures. I don’t read from slides.
When I teach, I am on.
For three or eight hours, my job is to hold the energy of a room. It’s about listening, adapting, challenging, and connecting. It’s a high-energy transfer. You give everything you have to make a complex topic feel simple, engaging, and real.
There’s a saying that you’re only as good as your last show. I feel that deeply about training.
I owe every student, in every class, my absolute best.
To give that ‘A-game’ performance, I simply cannot do it five times a week. My energy is finite. I’d rather do one great workshop than five average ones.
2. The Brand I Associate With
This is a big one. As an entrepreneur, my personal brand is my most valuable asset. When I stand on a stage or put my name on a certificate, I am implicitly endorsing the organization that built it.
Their values become my values. Their marketing practices reflect on me. Their reputation, by association, becomes my reputation.
I have to ask the hard questions: How do they represent themselves in the market? Do they have integrity in their practices?
This filter is non-negotiable, and it’s precisely why the training provider that I have partnered is Equinet Academy.
When I applied my hard questions, they had the answers.
Do they have a proven track record? Yes. They’ve been operating since 2013 and have a trusted history of training over 30,000 professionals.
Are they trusted by the market? Yes. A 5/5 Google rating and a client list that includes Microsoft, IKEA, Singtel, and DHL proves their quality.
Do they respect the craft? This is the most important part. They mandate that their instructors are active industry practitioners not just full-time trainers.
This alignment is rare. I’m selective because my own brand is on the line, and I will only stand with a partner who has earned that level of trust.
3. The Learners I Teach
The brand of the school is one thing; the motivation of the learners is another.
Motivated learners motivate me.
When the room is filled with business owners, serious career-builders, or existing marketing managers, there is a palpable drive. They are there to learn. They ask hard questions. They show up to apply the knowledge.
This is a sharp contrast to a challenge I’ve seen with some courses, where learners might have been hard-sold just to fill a seat. Teaching a room of people who don’t want to be there is an uphill battle. It drains the very energy I’m trying to give.
I am selective because I want to teach the motivated, not just the present.
4. The Cognitive Cost: Deep Work vs. Performance
My mind can’t be in two places at once.
Building a business (like 2Stallions) requires long, uninterrupted blocks of deep work. This is quiet, strategic, problem-solving time.
Teaching is a performance. It’s high-energy, outward-facing, and social.
A full day of teaching completely drains the cognitive battery I need for deep strategic work.
I’m selective because I have to protect my “deep work” days. I cannot be a good founder and a good trainer on the same day.
5. The Opportunity Cost of a Locked-In "Yes"
As an entrepreneur, my core principle is: when you say yes to one thing, you say no to another.
Teaching is the ultimate locked-in “yes.” The dates are set in stone months in advance. As a founder, my world is the opposite; the biggest opportunities are often spontaneous.
Because a date was locked for a training session, I have had to say “no” to high-value startup events, industry conferences, and last-minute networking opportunities. Those are the unplannable events where the “bigger outcomes” live such as a new cornerstone client for 2Stallions, an investor for my syndicate, or a game-changing partnership.
I am selective because I must protect my flexibility to say “yes” to those high-leverage, spontaneous opportunities.
6. The Scalability Trap (Time vs. Assets)
Traditional teaching is a classic “time for money” trap. It’s the least scalable activity an entrepreneur can do.
I have to be ruthless in calculating the ROI on my time:
A physical classroom has a hard cap. I trade 8 hours to teach 25 people. My impact (and income) is permanently capped by the clock.
My newsletter, podcast, and LinkedIn content have no cap. I can spend 8 hours creating a single asset that “teaches” thousands of people, 24/7, for years to come.
I’m selective because I will always choose to build a scalable asset over trading time for money. My content builds my brand and generates leads while I sleep; a classroom only does it while I’m in the room.
7. The Human Cost: My Time is Non-Negotiable
This is the most simple and least flexible reason. The work isn’t just the 8 hours in the classroom.
Digital marketing and AI are not static subjects. What worked six months ago is now a historical artifact. My material is in a constant state of evolution. I have a professional duty to my students to deliver what is current and practical, especially for topics like digital marketing and AI.
This commitment to relevance is a heavy, hidden cost. This “hidden” work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It has to be done outside of my agency work, which means it lands squarely on my weekday evenings or weekends.
This is the real trade-off. That update work directly eats into precious family time. The 6 PM to 9 PM slot is not “free time”; it’s a sacred window I get with my family.
You don’t get those moments back. No training fee is worth trading that. I build my professional life around my family, not the other way around.
My Philosophy is My Promise
So, why am I selective?
Because my energy is finite, my standards are high, and my mission is bigger than just being “a trainer.”
These 7 points aren’t just my reasons for saying “no”; they are my promise of quality for the 1% of gigs I say “yes” to.
If your company is looking for a marketing trainer who is a true practitioner, who brings great energy, and who delivers material that is relevant today, then your search for the right corporate trainer is over.
Let’s talk about a workshop for your team.
Subscribe to my newsletter
You will get a monthly dose of marketing and inspiration
