The Problem With Running A Small Business: Diren Kartal from The James Smith Show

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The Problem With Running A Small Business: Diren Kartal

1 hour 15 minutes Posted Jun 23, 2026 at 7:43 am.

The Problem With Running A Small Business

Bringing In Hundreds Of Thousands And Feeling Nothing

HENRY: High Earner, Not Rich Yet

The Cost Of Living In London Right Now

Every Tax Under The Sun

Why The Shops Keep Shutting Down

Business Rates Are The Real Killer

Going All-In And How Tough It's Been

Is AI A Disruptor Or A Distraction?

Why AI Still Can't Replace The Human Bit

The Real Reason People Stopped Posting

Living It vs Looking Like You're Living

The Steven Bartlett Problem

Being Unapologetically Yourself

Short Form Is Dying, Long Form Is Back

The Will Kennedy Trust Lesson

The Diren Kartal Experience

Thinking Fast And Slow: Give Him An A-Task

Why Men Talk Shoulder To Shoulder

The Front End Is Easy, The Back End Breaks You

Long-Term Memory, Terrible Short-Term Memory

The Pressure Nobody Warns You About

You Don't Want Your Son To See You Fail

Council Estate Vibes And The Fear Of Going Back

Getting The Psych Test

Six Months On ADHD Meds

Manufacturing Stress To Motivate Yourself

Is There A Real Return On The Meds?

Escaping The Desk Job To Build Another One

The 150 Grand Website Regret

Australia Is Bad, The UK Is Worse

289,000 Businesses Set To Fail This Year

Boomers Hate To Hear How Good They Had It

Why Earning More Can Leave You With Less

Your Favourite Part Of Britain Is Leaving It

Do The Elites Just Find The Loopholes?

Stop Making The Top Earners Feel Like Villains

Why Hating Landlords Makes No Sense

How Politicians Punish The Young To "Help" Them

Will He Stay In Australia?

How The Rich Borrow Against Assets And Pay No Tax

The Stuff They Never Teach You In School

The Money Chat That Changed Everything

The Valley Of Death: 12 To 30 Employees Is Hell

If He Did It Again He'd Stay Small

We're Both Hypocrites About Debt

Tripling The Money As An Investor

The Adapt Story And Building A Brand With Mates

What's Missing From Jiu Jitsu

Just Wanting To Look Good On The Mats

Taking The Piss Out Of Jiu Jitsu Culture

Becoming The Joe Wicks Of Turkey

Should You Get Assessed For ADHD?

Meds, Music And Feeling Like You're On Psychedelics

Raising A Son Without The Noise

Wrapping Up

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Show notes

Diren Kartal joins James Smith for an honest, often hilarious conversation about what running a small business actually does to you once the money is coming in but the freedom isn't. Diren is a personal trainer and Turkey's number one fitness coach with over 1.2 million followers, and despite bringing in hundreds of thousands a year he can't shake the feeling that none of it sticks. Together they unpick the tax trap that's bleeding British high-earners dry, the brutal "valley of death" stage of scaling, his secret ADHD diagnosis, and why the two of them keep eyeing the exits to Australia, Dubai and Turkey.

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📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

Diren Kartal's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/DirenKartal

Diren Kartal On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/diren.kartal/

He explains:

◼️ Why he can earn hundreds of thousands a year and still not feel a penny of it

◼️ The HENRY trap, and why earning over 100k in the UK can quietly leave you worse off

◼️ The secret ADHD diagnosis and meds that finally turned the noise off and let him focus

◼️ Why the rich borrow against their assets instead of selling, and never pay the tax

◼️ Why short-form scrolling left him "depressed and disgusted" and long form is the real comeback

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