Wickedly Smart Women® Celebrates Seven Years With Expanded Focus on What Comes After Corporate
For Immediate Release
The 15× award-winning Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast marks its seventh anniversary as the brand expands its work with senior corporate women considering leaving corporate to start consulting businesses and build premium consultancies.
NASHUA, N.H., September 18, 2026
— Wickedly Smart Women®, the award-winning brand founded by executive advisor, author and podcast host Anjel B. Hartwell, is celebrating the seventh anniversary of the Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast and a significant evolution in the brand’s work with experienced women asking a consequential career question:
What comes after corporate?
Since its launch in 2019, the Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast has grown into a 15× award-winning, #1 internationally ranked show reaching the Top 1% of podcasts globally according to Listen Notes. With nearly 400 episodes and listeners in more than 160 countries, the podcast has created an extensive body of conversations with executives, founders, authors, advisors, consultants, creatives and pioneers about leadership, entrepreneurship, money, professional evolution and creating meaningful work beyond conventional structures.
Seven years of those conversations also helped reveal a more specific need among experienced corporate women.
After 15, 20 or more years building expertise, credibility and leadership inside corporations, many high-achieving women reach a point when another corporate position may no longer be the professional future they want. Some begin considering whether the expertise for which they have been hired, promoted and relied upon throughout their corporate careers could become the foundation of an independent consulting business.
Wickedly Smart Women® has made the decision to address that transition more explicitly.
The brand now works with senior corporate women who are considering leaving corporate to start consulting businesses, assisting them in evaluating their exit timing, determining whether consulting is the appropriate path and, when it is, architecting a premium consultancy built around decades of professional expertise.
“In seven years, I have had the privilege of speaking with hundreds of extraordinary women about what they have built, what they have learned and what they want their work to mean,” said Hartwell, Founder of Wickedly Smart Women® and Executive Producer and Host of the Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast. “Again and again, I have seen women reach a point where another corporate role is no longer the obvious answer. They are asking: What comes after corporate? This year, we made the decision to address that question much more explicitly.”
What comes after corporate?
Since its launch in 2019, the Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast has grown into a 15× award-winning, #1 internationally ranked show reaching the Top 1% of podcasts globally according to Listen Notes. With nearly 400 episodes and listeners in more than 160 countries, the podcast has created an extensive body of conversations with executives, founders, authors, advisors, consultants, creatives and pioneers about leadership, entrepreneurship, money, professional evolution and creating meaningful work beyond conventional structures.
Seven years of those conversations also helped reveal a more specific need among experienced corporate women.
After 15, 20 or more years building expertise, credibility and leadership inside corporations, many high-achieving women reach a point when another corporate position may no longer be the professional future they want. Some begin considering whether the expertise for which they have been hired, promoted and relied upon throughout their corporate careers could become the foundation of an independent consulting business.
Wickedly Smart Women® has made the decision to address that transition more explicitly.
The brand now works with senior corporate women who are considering leaving corporate to start consulting businesses, assisting them in evaluating their exit timing, determining whether consulting is the appropriate path and, when it is, architecting a premium consultancy built around decades of professional expertise.
“In seven years, I have had the privilege of speaking with hundreds of extraordinary women about what they have built, what they have learned and what they want their work to mean,” said Hartwell, Founder of Wickedly Smart Women® and Executive Producer and Host of the Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast. “Again and again, I have seen women reach a point where another corporate role is no longer the obvious answer. They are asking: What comes after corporate? This year, we made the decision to address that question much more explicitly.”
During its seventh year, Wickedly Smart Women® sharpened its focus on high-achieving senior corporate women evaluating the transition from corporate leadership to consulting.
The expansion builds upon the brand’s podcast and publishing legacy with a structured advisory pathway for women seeking to determine when to leave corporate, whether consulting is the right business model for what they know, and how to turn decades of corporate expertise into a premium consultancy.
The pathway begins with From Corporate to Consulting: A Diagnostic Roadmap & Exit Timing Assessment , designed to assist experienced corporate women in recognizing the signals that may indicate where they are in relation to a corporate transition.
For women seeking deeper strategic clarity, the Get Started Consulting Clarity Conversation™ is a private, fee-based strategic assessment designed to discern whether consulting is the appropriate direction and identify the most appropriate next step.
For women who determine that consulting is the appropriate direction, Wickedly Smart Women® offers the SMART Start Consultancy Blueprint™ and Build Experience™, through which a premium consultancy is deliberately architected and built around the woman’s expertise, authority, financial objectives and desired professional structure.
The distinction is important. Wickedly Smart Women® is not encouraging women to leave corporate simply because they can. Its work addresses three different decisions: recognizing when the timing may be right to leave corporate, determining whether starting a consulting business is the appropriate path, and, when it is, building the architecture required to bring decades of expertise independently to market.
The expansion builds upon the brand’s podcast and publishing legacy with a structured advisory pathway for women seeking to determine when to leave corporate, whether consulting is the right business model for what they know, and how to turn decades of corporate expertise into a premium consultancy.
The pathway begins with From Corporate to Consulting: A Diagnostic Roadmap & Exit Timing Assessment , designed to assist experienced corporate women in recognizing the signals that may indicate where they are in relation to a corporate transition.
For women seeking deeper strategic clarity, the Get Started Consulting Clarity Conversation™ is a private, fee-based strategic assessment designed to discern whether consulting is the appropriate direction and identify the most appropriate next step.
For women who determine that consulting is the appropriate direction, Wickedly Smart Women® offers the SMART Start Consultancy Blueprint™ and Build Experience™, through which a premium consultancy is deliberately architected and built around the woman’s expertise, authority, financial objectives and desired professional structure.
The distinction is important. Wickedly Smart Women® is not encouraging women to leave corporate simply because they can. Its work addresses three different decisions: recognizing when the timing may be right to leave corporate, determining whether starting a consulting business is the appropriate path, and, when it is, building the architecture required to bring decades of expertise independently to market.
From Corporate Leadership to Consulting
The brand’s seventh year also brought an expansion of the Wickedly Smart Women® leadership team with the addition of Amanda Goodwin as Director of Engagement and Strategic Partnerships.
Goodwin brings extensive senior corporate leadership experience and firsthand understanding of the complexities of leaving corporate. Her role focuses on strategic partnerships, business development and engagement as Wickedly Smart Women® expands its work with senior corporate women and the organizations and communities that serve them.
Her arrival marks another stage in the evolution of a brand that began with a podcast and has developed into a broader body of thought leadership, intellectual property, publishing, speaking and strategic advisory work.
Goodwin brings extensive senior corporate leadership experience and firsthand understanding of the complexities of leaving corporate. Her role focuses on strategic partnerships, business development and engagement as Wickedly Smart Women® expands its work with senior corporate women and the organizations and communities that serve them.
Her arrival marks another stage in the evolution of a brand that began with a podcast and has developed into a broader body of thought leadership, intellectual property, publishing, speaking and strategic advisory work.
Expanding the Wickedly Smart Women® Leadership Team
Today, Wickedly Smart Women® encompasses the 15× award-winning Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast, the 5× award-winning and #1 international bestselling Wickedly Smart Women® collaborative book franchise, original intellectual property, speaking and strategic advisory services for women navigating the transition from corporate leadership to consulting.
Across those expressions, one principle has remained consistent: women’s accumulated wisdom has economic and societal value.
As Wickedly Smart Women® enters its eighth year, that principle is taking an increasingly specific form: experienced corporate women can recognize the intellectual capital accumulated over decades of leadership and determine whether it can become the foundation of a consulting business they own.
“Seven years ago, I could not have known exactly where all of these conversations would lead,” Hartwell said. “What is clear now is that there is an enormous body of expertise sitting inside women who have spent decades solving consequential problems, leading teams, building organizations and creating results. When corporate is no longer where that expertise belongs, there needs to be an intelligent way to determine what comes next.”
Wickedly Smart Women® enters its eighth year continuing its award-winning podcast while expanding its work around corporate exit timing, the transition from corporate to consulting, consulting viability, intellectual capital, independent authority and the deliberate architecture of premium consultancies.
Across those expressions, one principle has remained consistent: women’s accumulated wisdom has economic and societal value.
As Wickedly Smart Women® enters its eighth year, that principle is taking an increasingly specific form: experienced corporate women can recognize the intellectual capital accumulated over decades of leadership and determine whether it can become the foundation of a consulting business they own.
“Seven years ago, I could not have known exactly where all of these conversations would lead,” Hartwell said. “What is clear now is that there is an enormous body of expertise sitting inside women who have spent decades solving consequential problems, leading teams, building organizations and creating results. When corporate is no longer where that expertise belongs, there needs to be an intelligent way to determine what comes next.”
Wickedly Smart Women® enters its eighth year continuing its award-winning podcast while expanding its work around corporate exit timing, the transition from corporate to consulting, consulting viability, intellectual capital, independent authority and the deliberate architecture of premium consultancies.
Seven Years of Women’s Wisdom
About Wickedly Smart Women®
Wickedly Smart Women® is an award-winning brand dedicated to advancing women’s wisdom, economic sovereignty and professional autonomy.
Founded by executive advisor, author and podcast host Anjel B. Hartwell, Wickedly Smart Women® encompasses the 15× award-winning, #1 internationally ranked Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast, with listeners in more than 160 countries; the 5× award-winning, #1 international bestselling Wickedly Smart Women® collaborative book franchise; original intellectual property; speaking; and strategic advisory services for high-achieving senior corporate women considering the transition from corporate leadership to consulting.
At the center of its current work is a defining question: What comes after corporate?
Wickedly Smart Women® works with experienced corporate women seeking to determine when to leave corporate, whether consulting is the appropriate path and, when it is, how to turn decades of expertise and intellectual capital into a premium consultancy.
For additional information about Wickedly Smart Women® and its work with women transitioning from corporate to consulting, visit WickedlySmartWomen.com.
Media Contact:
Anjel B Hartwell
Founder, Wickedly Smart Women®
team@wickedlysmartwomen.com
603-557-9633
Founded by executive advisor, author and podcast host Anjel B. Hartwell, Wickedly Smart Women® encompasses the 15× award-winning, #1 internationally ranked Wickedly Smart Women® Podcast, with listeners in more than 160 countries; the 5× award-winning, #1 international bestselling Wickedly Smart Women® collaborative book franchise; original intellectual property; speaking; and strategic advisory services for high-achieving senior corporate women considering the transition from corporate leadership to consulting.
At the center of its current work is a defining question: What comes after corporate?
Wickedly Smart Women® works with experienced corporate women seeking to determine when to leave corporate, whether consulting is the appropriate path and, when it is, how to turn decades of expertise and intellectual capital into a premium consultancy.
For additional information about Wickedly Smart Women® and its work with women transitioning from corporate to consulting, visit WickedlySmartWomen.com.
Media Contact:
Anjel B Hartwell
Founder, Wickedly Smart Women®
team@wickedlysmartwomen.com
603-557-9633