Coffee No Cream

Erin Braxton
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Biweekly

A podcast celebrating Black women's unique journeys in business. Whether you're an entrepreneur, corporate climber, or finding your path, we share authentic "Coffee No Cream Moments" – those distinctly Black girl experiences that become catalysts for growth, bold action, and powerful career pivots. No complaints – just real stories and celebrations of resilience from those who truly understand the walk.

  1. 17h ago

    Coffee No Cream Summer Rewind #6 – Black Women, Build Your Own Table

    Should you stay in corporate, or should you go? That's the question this whole episode is built around. Over 62 episodes, you and your guests have answered this from every angle, how to find the right organization, how to shift from tasks to value, how to build confidence outside of a job title, what burnout actually costs. This Summer Rewind pulls together the strongest career advice from the entire run: Rhonda Joy McLean and Elaine Meryl Brown on building your own table when the one you're at won't make room for you. Celeste Warren on doing real due diligence before you accept a job. Natasha Williams on scarcity mindset and learning the system before you leave it. Dr. Pamela Buchanan on what burnout during the pandemic actually did to her, and what she built after. This isn't a highlight reel. It's the playbook.Episodes HighlightedEpisode 42 w/Rhonda Joy McLean Episode 44 w/Celeste Warren Episode 43 w/Erin Episode 55 w/Erin Episode 26 w/Natasha Williams Episode 23 w/Erin Episode 51 w/Bernie Frazier Episode 27 w/Erin Episode 41 w/Pamela Buchanan, M.D. ☕ Coffee No Cream is a podcast dedicated to Black women sharing the moments, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional and entrepreneurial journeys. 📌 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Coffee No Cream Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Educational Resources⁠ ⏰ Timestamps (0:01) Should You Stay Or Go? (1:50) Rhonda Joy McLean: Build Your Own Table (5:42) Celeste Warren: Do Your Homework First (9:42) Celeste Warren: Reading The Org From The Inside (12:53) From Tasks To Value (The AI Tool Tip) (18:09) Natasha Williams: Scarcity Mindset & Getting Out (21:02) Stay In Motion (27:43) Dr. Pamela Buchanan: Burnout & Building After Medicine (37:18) Silence To Strategic Visibility

  2. Aug 12

    Coffee No Cream Summer Rewind #5 – Black Women Are Leaving the Church

    Religion, and specifically Black women deconstructing it, has been my best-performing topic on this podcast in the last year. So for this Summer Rewind, we're going back to it. This episode pulls together my conversation with Ashante, The Unpunishable Woman, and the religion panel with Abby The Attorney and Tammy Triolo, three different religious backgrounds, three different roads to the same reckoning. Ashante walks through the judicial process her congregation put her through after she was raped. Abby breaks down the Baptist "decorum" system and what it cost her to step out of line. Tammy talks about growing up Pentecostal, and what her mother wasn't allowed to do. This isn't an anti-faith video. It's about the systems built around faith, and what they asked of us before we were old enough to ask questions back. There's a second panel coming, women who are deconstructing, but still believing. That one's coming soon. Tell me where you are on your own journey with this. I read every comment.Episodes Highlighted Episode 58 w/Ashanti, The Unpunishable WomanEpisode 60 w/Religion Panel ☕ Coffee No Cream is a podcast dedicated to Black women sharing the moments, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional and entrepreneurial journeys. 📌 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Coffee No Cream Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Educational Resources ⁠⁠⁠⏰ TIMESTAMPS (0:00) Why This Episode Exists (5:36) Ashante: The Judicial Process (13:27) Abby The Attorney: Right Hand Of Fellowship (17:57) Tammy Triolo: Growing Up Pentecostal (27:31) Closing Thoughts + What's Coming Next

  3. Aug 5

    Coffee No Cream Summer Rewind #4 – The Nerve Black Women Deal With

    The nerve. That's really what this episode is about. Since we launched in May 2025, we've hit 62 episodes, and across nearly all of them, one thing keeps showing up: the sheer nerve people have toward Black women, especially in professional spaces. This is part four of our Summer Rewind series, and it pulls together some of the most outrageous "Coffee No Cream moments" from the entire run, the ones that made you say "wait, what?" out loud. A patient who was Black still requesting a white nurse. A boss telling Karen Donaldson flat out, "you will never be at my level." Attorney Tashun Bowden-Lewis being asked not to sit next to her own boss. Michele Forbes getting publicly shut down mid-meeting in front of her entire leadership team. Ashley Morgan hearing "you don't sound Black on the phone at all." And more. This isn't about relitigating any one story, it's about seeing how many times the same nerve shows up, across different women, different industries, different years.Episodes Highlighted Episode 8 w/Sheryl DavisEpisode 2 w/Karen Donaldson Episode 24 w/Dr. Kwanza Falaka GipsonEpisode 16 w/Valencia Dantzler Episode 47 w/Tashun Bowden-LewisEpisode 32 w/Ashley Morgan Episode 3 w/Monique McKinney ☕ Coffee No Cream is a podcast dedicated to Black women sharing the moments, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional and entrepreneurial journeys. 📌 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Coffee No Cream Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Educational Resources⁠⁠⁠ ⏰ TIMESTAMPS (0:00) Cold Open (1:51) Why This Episode Exists (5:12) Sheryl Davis: The White Nurse (8:17) Karen Donaldson: The Receptionist (19:41) Dr. Kwanza Falaka: Physically Confronted (26:00) Valencia Dantzler: "You Will Never Be At My Level (27:53) Tashun Bowden-Lewis: "Not Next To Me" (33:37) Ashley Morgan: "You Don't Sound Black" (36:12) Michele Forbes: "Can You Hold?" (38:37) Nadine Foster: The Shoppers Comment (41:37) Monique McKinney: The Review (48:36) Closing Thoughts

  4. Jul 29

    Coffee No Cream Summer Rewind #3 – Corporate Rules Black Women Aren't Told

    You may think you're not playing the game at work. The truth is, the game is being played whether you choose to participate or not. After more than 60 conversations with Black women, one lesson continues to surface: success isn't just about working hard. It's about understanding the unwritten rules, protecting your peace, setting boundaries, and moving strategically. In this Summer Rewind, I'm bringing together insights from Bernie Frazier, Ashley Morgan, Tracie Walker, and Abby the Attorney as we discuss what it really means to "play the game" without losing yourself. Whether it's navigating office politics, deciding when to speak up, attending the happy hour you don't want to attend, or learning how to remain unbothered, this conversation is about making intentional decisions that move your career forward. Because whether you call it "playing the game" or not... They're playing. You're not. Episodes Highlighted Episode 51 w/Bernie FrazierEpisode 52 w/ErinEpisode 32 w/Ashley MorganEpisode 22 w/ErinEpisode 13 w/Tracie Walker (Thinking Out Loud)Episode 27 w/ErinEpisode 21 w/Abby the Attorney I'd love to hear from you. What part of "the game" has been the hardest for you to navigate in your career? ☕ Coffee No Cream is a podcast dedicated to Black women sharing the moments, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional and entrepreneurial journeys. 📌 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Coffee No Cream Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Educational Resources⁠⁠⁠ ⏰TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Preview (00:50) Welcome to Summer Rewind #3 (03:39) Bernie Frazier: Learn the unwritten rules of corporate (07:22) Why you're already playing the game (09:40) Ashley Morgan: Understanding executive psychology (11:38) Playing the game without losing yourself (15:00) Tracie Walker: A level of unbotheredness (21:29) Protecting your boundaries at work (23:37) Abby the Attorney: Networking when you'd rather not (25:19) Final thoughts: Play strategically, not emotionally

  5. Jul 22

    Coffee No Cream Summer Rewind #2 – Black Girl Mean Energy

    "Black women, Black girls are mean. And you know it. I know it. We are." That's how this one starts, and I'm not exempting myself from it. This is part two of our Summer Rewind series, not a rerun, a new conversation built from clips across the last 62 episodes. Dr. Lydia Bullock admits she was "a jealous girl" growing up and had to do the internal work to unlearn it. Abby The Attorney tells the story of a colleague, Erica, who showed up as her full, unapologetic self, and how appalled Abby was by it, until she realized years later what that respectability cost her. Shaquana Hughes talks about the very real difference in trust and pushback she gets from Black women clients versus white ones in her own business. And clinical psychologist Dr. Mel Robinson-Brown breaks down the actual difference between envy and jealousy, and gives us real language for checking ourselves before we check anybody else. I also read some of the comments you left on past episodes, because a lot of you have lived this too. This isn't a finger-pointing video. It's an invitation to look at where we might be the problem, not just where we've been hurt by one. Episodes highlighted in this video: Episode 6 w/Shaquana Hughes Episode 15 w/Erin on Mean Girls Episode 18 w/Abby The Attorney Episode 28 w/Erin and the comments Episode 29 w/Natasha Williams and Dr. Lydia Bullock Episode 30 w/Natasha Williams and Dr. Lydia Bullock Episode 46 w/Dr. Mel Robinson-Brown

  6. Jul 15

    Coffee No Cream Summer Rewind #1 – My Hair, My Business

    My hair. My business. That's the whole thesis of this episode, but it took hearing the same comment from four different women, across four different conversations, before I saw it clearly enough to say it that plainly. This is the first episode in our Summer Rewind series — not a rerun, a new conversation built from clips across multiple episodes. It starts with a 90-year-old family elder telling me "what have you done with your hair, you look like Buckwheat" — and it turns out I'm not the only one who's heard some version of that line. Tammy Triolo talks about the day she shaved her head bald and stopped being "enslaved" to her hair. Dr. Pamela Buchanan breaks down the difference between a microaggression and a macroaggression, starting with "what kind of hair is that?" Ashanti, The Unpunishable Woman, talks about showing up online with no makeup, no wig, no straightened hair — and the pushback she's gotten for it, including from other Black women. This isn't a "natural hair is good" video. It's about who feels entitled to comment on how you show up, and what they think they're really saying when they do. Featured Episodes Episode 59 on Erin's Hair Stories Episode 34 w/Tammy Triolo Episode 41 w/Dr. Pamela Buchanan Episode 58 w/Ashanti☕ Coffee No Cream is a podcast dedicated to Black women sharing the moments, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional and entrepreneurial journeys. 📌 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Coffee No Cream Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Educational Resources⁠⁠🔗 Connect with Ashanti: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠Substack🔗 Connect with Tammy Triolo ⁠Website⁠ ⁠TikTok🔗 Connect with Dr. Pamela Buchanan Text STRONG to 55444 to download her speaker guide ⁠Find her on LinkedIn⁠⏰ TIMESHEETS 0:00) Cold Open: "You Look Like Buckwheat" (0:40) Why This Episode Exists (8:37) Tammy Triolo Joins In (9:01) The Ex-Boss & Going Gray (11:35) "I Just Shave My Head Bald" (13:44) Dr. Pamela Buchanan: Micro vs. Macro (14:09) Ashanti: Natural, No Makeup, No Apology (15:30) The Wig Companies DMing Her (18:58) Closing Thoughts — My Hair, My Business

  7. Jul 8

    Coffee No Cream Ep. 62 – We're Not Ready to Promote You | Roxy Couse

    Her boss's boss looked her in the eye and said, "We're not ready to promote you." Roxy Couse joins me on Coffee No Cream to talk about what happened next. She spent almost 15 years in corporate, Dillard's, Whirlpool, Avery Dennison, then over to tech at Bloomreach and Sitecore, before that one skip-level meeting changed everything. She started posting on TikTok, built close to 700,000 followers across platforms, and walked away from corporate for good. We get into the video that made her go viral, why she kept her corporate job a secret while she built her following, what it actually took to get bold enough to bet on herself, and why she stopped waiting for someone to give her a seat at the table. If you've ever been told you're not ready — and you knew good and well you were — this one's for you.Follow Roxy: TikTok Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Roxy's Personal Branding Platform Roxy's Personal Branding Webinar ☕ Coffee No Cream is a podcast dedicated to Black women sharing the moments, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional and entrepreneurial journeys. 📌 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Coffee No Cream Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Educational Resources⁠⏰ Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (2:59) Welcome Roxy Couse (9:09) Why she started posting on social media (13:58) The video that went viral (16:17) Balancing corporate while building a following (20:05) Her first brand deal (31:55) Sitting in the front seat of her life (34:07) "We're not ready to promote you" (49:49) Front of the jersey, not the back (57:07) Confidence and the delusional mindset (1:01:21) Building her management team (1:02:13) Personal branding and SlowFi (1:21:52) Where to find Roxy

  8. Jul 1

    Coffee No Cream Ep. 61 – She Built an FU Fund and Bounced From Corporate | Jamila Souffrant

    She was eight months pregnant, stuck in a four-hour commute home, and done. Jamila Souffrant joins me on Coffee No Cream to talk about what happened next. She's the creator of the Journey to Launch podcast and author of Your Journey to Financial Freedom, and her story is proof that financial freedom isn't about luck; it's about a plan. In two years, she and her husband saved $169,000, and she walked away from corporate for good. We get into the five levels of financial independence, why an emergency fund isn't enough, and the FU fund that gave her the runway to leave. If you've ever sat in traffic wondering if this is really your life, this one's for you. 🔗 Connect with Jamila: Podcast Website Book IG ☕ Coffee No Cream is a podcast dedicated to Black women sharing the moments, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional and entrepreneurial journeys. 📌 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Coffee No Cream Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Educational Resources⁠ ⏰ TIMESTAMPS (0:00) Cold open: $169K, the commute, the FU fund (1:12) Intro: Welcome to Coffee No Cream (3:17) Born in Jamaica, raised in Brooklyn (5:05) How Journey to Launch started (6:37) Eight months pregnant, four hours in traffic (9:15) Building the FU fund (11:43) Where the money actually came from (23:23) The five levels of financial independence (41:21) Finding your side hustle and the wealth formula (44:04) Why not you? (45:39) Where to find Jamila

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About

A podcast celebrating Black women's unique journeys in business. Whether you're an entrepreneur, corporate climber, or finding your path, we share authentic "Coffee No Cream Moments" – those distinctly Black girl experiences that become catalysts for growth, bold action, and powerful career pivots. No complaints – just real stories and celebrations of resilience from those who truly understand the walk.

Information

  • Creator
    Erin Braxton
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Erin Braxton
  • Show Website
    Coffee No Cream

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