Why Is Nobody Talking About This

31: Your Year Was Bigger Than You Think

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In the final episode of 2025, Kim hit record with ten hours left on the clock. She's putting words to the feeling she keeps hearing from high achievers (and herself): that weird holiday restlessness—pressure to “use the time well,” even when you’re exhausted. Instead of forcing a resolution or a big plan, this episode walks you through the simple year-mapping practice that changed her entire perspective on what's possible in a slow year. This episode is part reflection, part reset, and part guidance for entering 2026 with a clearer aim, cleaner energy, and a truer definition of success.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
The reason high achievers underestimate how much they did in a year
What you need to do before setting any 2026 intentions
A simple year in review practice that outweighs new year's resolutions and "new year, new me" goals
How to name what you want without getting hijacked by the question of how it will happen
Hear for the first time the what Kim is ready to call in after years of doubting whether she'd ever be able to land on just one thing
FOLLOW
Find Kim on LinkedIn or her website

30: No One Ever Died From Not Getting a Laugh with Lynn Harris

Most of us don’t avoid humor because we don’t have it—we avoid it because we’re afraid of how we’ll come across. In this live conversation, Kim sits down with journalist, producer, and Gold Comedy founder Lynn Harris to talk about why comedy isn’t reserved for performers, and why “being funny” isn’t a personality trait—it’s a practice. Together they unpack humor as a tool for connection, trust, and saying the thing everyone’s thinking (without the scoldy energy). If you’ve ever worried you’re not witty enough, bold enough, or “interesting enough” to use your voice differently, Lynn’s message is the one you need: the stakes are low—and your life is already full of material.
HIGHLIGHTS
Why humor builds trust in business 
The difference between humor and comedy (and why you don’t need to be a performer to benefit)
What “being funny at work” can look like without being loud, jokey, or self-deprecating
Lynn’s most universal creative advice
A reframe for perfectionists and shy creatives who might count themselves out because they don't live in the spotlight
How women’s lived experience becomes the most compelling “credential” in the room
MENTIONS & FOLLOW:
Lynn Harris on LinkedIn & Website
GOLD Comedy
Comedians to Follow: Rachel Dratch, Maria Bamford, Cameron Esposito, Naomi Ekperigin, Bob the Drag Queen, Aparna Nancherla

29: What Ideas People Need To Know About Consistency

Ideas people are tweakers. We keep going back to things that are far from perfect and abandon things that are technically better. But is this necessary? In this episode, Kim unpacks a deceptively simple insight drawn from everyday life: people don’t stay loyal because something is exceptional once; they stay because it’s consistent. Using an everyday story that nearly anyone can relate to, she explores how founders, creatives, and big thinkers often hold themselves to impossible standards—constantly improving, refining, and reinventing—while underestimating the power of reliability. 
HIGHLIGHTS
Why consistency builds more trust than novelty or constant improvementWhat everyday loyalty reveals about how people actually choose who to work with
How high-achieving, idea-driven people sabotage momentum by over-tweaking
The hidden cost of holding yourself to standards you don’t apply to others
A reframing question that simplifies growth
FOLLOW
Find Kim on LinkedIn or her website

28: Start Before Its Scalable

Somewhere along the way, founders were taught to ask “is this scalable?” before they ask whether something is worth making at all. In this episode, Kim pushes back on the pressure to build like a venture-backed startup. She unpacks the beliefs that keep smart, capable entrepreneurs stuck in planning mode, the growth advice that’s flattening good ideas, and why starting small and not as polished as you're capable of is the most strategic move you can make.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
The beliefs entrepreneurs absorb that make them feel behind if they don’t have a scale plan
 
Why “build it bigger” advice is flattening good, human-centered ideas
 
The fear hiding behind questions like: “Is this worth starting if it can’t grow?”
 
How venture-style thinking has quietly become the default, even when it doesn’t align with most founders' goals
 
What actually becomes possible when you stop designing for scale and start building for service
 
LINKS & MENTIONS
"Great things start in little rooms" clip by André 3000
Simon Sinek interviews Jeni Britton
Brian Chesky on Masters of Scale: Do things that don't scale
Kim's Website

27: What Small Business Owners Wish You Knew on Black Friday with Lisa Tumbarello

Black Friday gets all the attention, but what about the independent shops holding our towns together the rest of the year? In this episode, Kim sits down with vintage shop owner and designer Lisa Tumbarello for an honest conversation about the realities of running a small business during the busiest (and most emotionally loaded) shopping weekend of the year. They talk about the unseen labor, the tough calls, the creative joy, and the very real pressures that come with trying to build something meaningful in a world obsessed with speed, scale, and discounts. If you’ve ever wondered what it actually takes to keep your favorite small shops alive, this episode is the truth-telling you won’t hear anywhere else this week.HIGHLIGHTS
The assumptions people make about small shops and the reality behind running one
Why transparency is tricky when a small business is struggling or in transition and how that leads to us being shocked when they make an announcement that they're closing their doors
The tension between curating what you love vs. stocking what reliably sells
What Lisa wishes customers understood about hours, inventory, and bandwidth
The misunderstood pressure small businesses feel around Black Friday and holiday shopping culture and why shopping small is about more than community, taste, and identity than sales
Simple, meaningful ways to support local shops year round 
 
FOLLOW
Potomac River Interiors website and Instagram
Kim on Instagram, LinkedIn, and website

26: What The Bench Summit Taught Me About Leadership

Leadership isn’t always loud, polished, or certain. Sometimes it looks like sitting in a room with women who are figuring it out in real time. In this episode, Kim shares the biggest lessons that emerged from The Bench Summit in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida: moments of honesty, humanity, and self-led leadership that had nothing to do with titles and everything to do with how we show up for ourselves and one another. Whether you were in the room or not, these reflections offer a new way to think about influence, ambition, and the kind of leader you’re becoming.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Why embodied leadership isn’t about having the right answers; it’s about creating space for others
What happens when high-achieving women let their guard down and tell the truth
The difference between “leading the room” and holding a room
How vulnerability, not performance, became the Summit’s most powerful takeaway
How the right community expands what feels possible
The unexpected (and at times, hilarious) moments that revealed what it looks to build in real time and take up space
 
FOLLOW
Kim on Instagram and LinkedIn
Kim's Website

25: Being Open To What's Next with Sara Amin

How do you stay open to change when what once drove and defined you no longer fits? In this conversation, Kim talks with communications strategist and solo mom by choice Sara Amin about what it means to rewrite the story you thought you were living and trusting yourself enough to move toward what’s calling you next. From career burnout to building a family on her own terms, Sara shares how to create your own version of fulfillment, redefine ambition, and to take action on projects when you aren't sure where they'll lead. For anyone who's worked in a giving profession, been in a helper role, or pursued work that is mission-driven, this will address the question you've grappled with: can work just be work? 
This conversation highlights the three most important questions we must come back to every time we're experiencing a shift:
What am I doing?
Where am I putting my energy?
What do I really want?
HIGHLIGHTS
How ambitious women can give themselves permission to show up and do the job, and allowing that to be enough
The way burnout changes what we're reaching for and redefines our priorities
Sara's decision to become a solo parent and how sharing her story sparked curiosity in others
Why, as a parent, it's so difficult to remember and lean into who we are when our kids reach a certain stage of independence
The power of starting before you have all the answers
 
FOLLOW
Sara on Instagram and LinkedIn
Kim on Instagram and LinkedIn
Kim's Website

24: A Better Alternative To Fake It Til You Make It

When we're in the depths of a career pivot, reinvention, or shift, it's easy to feel stuck waiting for the new version of ourselves to arrive. The old bio doesn't fit, but when we haven't yet done the thing we want to be known for, how do we embody it? Rather than waiting for a client to find us and become our magical test case, on this episode Kim is asking you to consider what it could look like to greenlight your own ideas.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Why the term "passion project" devalues the important role of self-directed work
What it looks like to invest in something before the ROI is clear
How we've all been fooled into thinking something needs to be profitable from the get-go
The quickest way to get from where you are to the work you want to be known for
What the most successful creatives are doing that most others aren't willing to
A walkthrough of the most recent project that ignited Kim's professional direction: The Bench Magazine
FOLLOW
Kim's website
Kim on Instagram
Kim on LinkedIn

23: How To Invite Feedback Before Your Best Work Is Done with Jacqueline Fisch

Most of us wait until something feels finished before we’re willing to share it — but what if that’s the reason our work stalls out? In this episode, Kim sits down with her book editor, Jacqueline Fisch, to talk about why the best creative work happens in collaboration, not isolation. They unpack the fear of being seen too early, the trauma so many of us carry from bad feedback experiences, and how to ask for feedback in a way that builds momentum instead of shutting you down.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:
Why waiting until something is “polished” slows our growth
How to give feedback without killing someone’s voice or confidence
The exact moment in the process you should invite feedback (hint: it’s earlier than you think)
What's wrong with the common advice to write a "shitty first draft"
Why overthinking stunts the creative process and how we can leave those natural tendencies aside when we're writing 
 
FOLLOW:
The Intuitive Writing School
Jacq's Author Website
Connect with Jacq on LinkedIn
Jacq's new Instagram 
 
MENTIONS:
How Women Write Episode with Kim Wensel: Trusting a Non-Linear Career Path and Writing a Book About It

22: [ Visibility Series ] Let Them Think What They Think

We’ve spent the Visibility Series redefining a word that's often used as synonymous with content strategy and relating it closer to a practice of being seen in honest, human ways. To close it out, this episode lands on what may be the hardest part of all: using your voice and letting people think what they think. Visibility isn’t always public or polished; sometimes it’s simply asking for what you need without over-explaining, advocating for yourself, or holding a line without worrying how it might land.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Why visibility happens in private moments as much as public ones
The difference between advocating for yourself vs. hoping someone “gets the hint”
How people-pleasing sneaks back in even when we think we’ve outgrown it
The ways visibility feels different when you're showing up without a title, logo, or identity to hide behind
 
MENTIONS
Rethinking Your Bio When You're In The Messy Middle
The Bench