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...
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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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
Chapters:
00:00 The Problem With Running A Small Business
01:25 Bringing In Hundreds Of Thousands And Feeling Nothing
01:52 HENRY: High Earner, Not Rich Yet
03:21 The Cost Of Living In London Right Now
04:07 Every Tax Under The Sun
05:25 Why The Shops Keep Shutting Down
06:27 Business Rates Are The Real Killer
07:39 Going All-In And How Tough It's Been
07:56 Is AI A Disruptor Or A Distraction?
09:00 Why AI Still Can't Replace The Human Bit
10:27 The Real Reason People Stopped Posting
11:58 Living It vs Looking Like You're Living
12:51 The Steven Bartlett Problem
14:19 Being Unapologetically Yourself
15:10 Short Form Is Dying, Long Form Is Back
17:00 The Will Kennedy Trust Lesson
18:03 The Diren Kartal Experience
20:27 Thinking Fast And Slow: Give Him An A-Task
22:00 Why Men Talk Shoulder To Shoulder
23:54 The Front End Is Easy, The Back End Breaks You
25:36 Long-Term Memory, Terrible Short-Term Memory
26:23 The Pressure Nobody Warns You About
27:45 You Don't Want Your Son To See You Fail
28:28 Council Estate Vibes And The Fear Of Going Back
29:25 Getting The Psych Test
30:25 Six Months On ADHD Meds
32:20 Manufacturing Stress To Motivate Yourself
34:30 Is There A Real Return On The Meds?
35:35 Escaping The Desk Job To Build Another One
36:53 The 150 Grand Website Regret
37:50 Australia Is Bad, The UK Is Worse
40:04 289,000 Businesses Set To Fail This Year
41:20 Boomers Hate To Hear How Good They Had It
43:50 Why Earning More Can Leave You With Less
45:12 Your Favourite Part Of Britain Is Leaving It
46:23 Do The Elites Just Find The Loopholes?
47:04 Stop Making The Top Earners Feel Like Villains
49:05 Why Hating Landlords Makes No Sense
51:32 How Politicians Punish The Young To "Help" Them
53:16 Will He Stay In Australia?
53:43 How The Rich Borrow Against Assets And Pay No Tax
55:01 The Stuff They Never Teach You In School
56:17 The Money Chat That Changed Everything
57:43 The Valley Of Death: 12 To 30 Employees Is Hell
58:38 If He Did It Again He'd Stay Small
59:06 We're Both Hypocrites About Debt
01:00:17 Tripling The Money As An Investor
01:02:20 The Adapt Story And Building A Brand With Mates
01:04:26 What's Missing From Jiu Jitsu
01:07:28 Just Wanting To Look Good On The Mats
01:08:35 Taking The Piss Out Of Jiu Jitsu Culture
01:09:06 Becoming The Joe Wicks Of Turkey
01:10:47 Should You Get Assessed For ADHD?
01:11:33 Meds, Music And Feeling Like You're On Psychedelics
01:12:36 Raising A Son Without The Noise
01:13:23 Wrapping Up
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