Coffee No Cream

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.

Coffee No Cream is a society podcast hosted by Erin Braxton, with 74 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Erin Braxton hosts Coffee No Cream, a society show with 74 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Coffee No Cream

  Coffee No Cream Ep. 67 - Why 50 Is Not Too Late to Start Something New

  Sep 30, 202630 min

  I started Coffee No Cream at 50 years old. Not because I had everything mapped out. Not because I knew it would work. And definitely not because I had some grand monetization plan. I started because there was something I wanted to do, and I was tired of letting fear, age, and the idea that I'd somehow “missed my window” keep me from doing it. Now I'm 52, Coffee No Cream has grown into a community of more than 13,000 people, and I'm still finding new things I want to try. In fact, the day after this episode airs, I'm starting woodworking classes because apparently I think I'm going to build my own kitchen cabinets. In this solo episode, I'm talking especially to Black women who have reached 40, 50, 60, and beyond and are wondering whether it's too late to start the business, change careers, go back to school, pick up the hobby, revisit an old dream, or simply find something that brings some light back into their lives. Because having a successful life doesn't mean you have to be finished. I'm sharing five things I've learned about starting something new later in life, including why everything you love doesn't have to make money, why being a beginner at this age can actually be an advantage, and why you have to stop letting other people's timelines determine what's still possible for you. I found a new thing at 50. I have no idea what I'll find at 55 or 60, but I hope I keep finding new things for as long as I'm here.So tell me in the comments: What are you starting, learning, changing, or rediscovering in your second, third, or fourth act? ☕ Join the Coffee No Cream Community We talk about career, confidence, workplace trauma, healing, and navigating life as Black women, without apology. ► ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the private Facebook group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ► ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Access 2,000+ free educational resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ► ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a Motion Hour with Erin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to figure out your next step ⏰ TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Starting Something New at 50 (03:06) Thinking Your Window Has Closed (07:03) I Started Coffee No Cream at 50 (11:04) Stop Asking If You're Too Old (12:53) What's Actually Holding You Back? (16:37) Everything Doesn't Have to Make Money (19:16) A Successful Life Isn't a Finished Life (21:17) Give Yourself Permission to Be a Beginner (27:08) It's Time to Give to Yourself (28:44) Finding My Thing at 50

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  Coffee No Cream

  Coffee No Cream Ep. 66 - COO Reveals the Unwritten Rules for Black Women

  Sep 23, 20261h 48m

  What if doing great work isn’t enough? Beverly Dines became a C-suite executive by age 30, and after leaving corporate America, she built an online community of more than 500,000 people by sharing the career advice most of us never hear, including what is actually being said behind closed doors. In this episode of Coffee No Cream, Beverly and I talk candidly about the unwritten rules of corporate America and what Black women need to understand about navigating them. We get into how race, complexion, presentation and proximity to whiteness can affect career advancement, why Beverly believes Black women should consider “unsexy” industries when making a career pivot, and why simply applying for more jobs may not be the answer. Beverly also takes us inside the C-suite. She explains why being a “culture carrier” can sometimes protect an employee when performance alone doesn’t, why she says companies operate like clubs, and how internal relationships can affect who gets promoted, protected, or pushed out. And we talk about the shift many Black women know all too well: going from pet to threat. Beverly shares what to pay attention to when you feel that change happening and why waiting for undeniable proof may mean waiting too long. But this conversation isn’t only about learning how to play the corporate game. It’s also about building enough power to decide whether you want to play at all. Beverly talks about creating “F-you money,” decentering work, investing in your own expertise, and the advice from her mother that changed how she thought about her career: “You’ve made a lot of white men very wealthy with your operational expertise. If you gave yourself 10% of what you gave them, imagine how successful you’d be.” This is a conversation about understanding the game, recognizing when the game has changed, and creating more options for yourself. Connect with Beverly Dines YouTube Instagram TikTok Book: Create Your Door by Beverly Dines ☕ Join the Coffee No Cream Community We talk about career, confidence, workplace trauma, healing, and navigating life as Black women, without apology. ► ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the private Facebook group ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ► ⁠⁠⁠⁠Access 2,000+ free educational resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ► ⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a Motion Hour with Erin⁠⁠⁠⁠ to figure out your next step ⏰ TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Coming Up (00:27) Welcome to Coffee No Cream (03:20) Meet Beverly Dines (03:32) How Beverly Built an Audience of 500,000+ (07:06) Becoming a C-Suite Executive at 30 (12:31) Learning the Corporate Game (19:00) Did Proximity to Whiteness Help Her Career? (22:51) The Unspoken Rules of Presentation (27:18) Black Women: Look at the “Unsexy” Industries (33:44) Stop “Spraying and Praying” for Jobs (36:09) Decisions Are Made on the Golf Course (38:33) How to Pivot Into a New Industry (46:09) Do You Really Need LinkedIn? (54:41) How to Find “Your People” (1:01:32) What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors (1:02:44) Why Being a “Culture Carrier” Matters (1:04:08) “Companies Are Clubs” (1:10:38) When Black Women Go From Pet to Threat (1:11:13) When You Notice It, It May Already Be Too Late (1:17:50) What If You Don’t Want to Play the Game? (1:18:15) Building “F-You Money” (1:20:44) Trust the Shift When You Feel It (1:26:12) “You’ve Made a Lot of White Men Wealthy” (1:27:50) Black Women, Presentation & Authenticity (1:40:33) Companies Are Clubs, But Where Do You Draw the Line? (1:45:31) Beverly’s Book, Create the Door (1:48:00) Closing

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  Coffee No Cream

  Coffee No Cream Ep. 63 – Black Women, Code Switching and the Power of Strategic Communication

  Sep 2, 20261h 15m

  We’re back with a brand new episode of Coffee No Cream, and we’re jumping into a conversation that Black women have A LOT of feelings about: code-switching. Executive coach Ashley Morgan is back, and she has a perspective that might challenge the way you think about changing how you communicate in different spaces. Is code-switching always about making ourselves more palatable to white people? Is adapting the way we communicate a betrayal of who we are? Or can it simply be strategic communication, a tool we use to read the room, navigate the system, and get the outcome we want? Ashley argues that we all code-switch. We do it at work, at church, with family, with friends, and in different social environments. The difference, she says, is the story we tell ourselves about why we're doing it. And when it comes to refusing to “play the game” in corporate America, Ashley doesn't mince words: you absolutely have the right not to do it. But if you choose not to navigate the system, then don't complain when you don't get what you want from it. We also get into authenticity, “talking white,” performing for white comfort, power and privilege, being strategic in corporate America, and why Ashley believes adapting her communication doesn't diminish her identity as a Black woman. For her, it's about agency: understanding the environment, knowing what she wants and communicating in a way that helps her get there. So is code-switching really the problem? Or have we been looking at strategic communication all wrong? Watch the full conversation and let me know where you land in the comments. Follow Ashley on ⁠ TikTok ⁠ ⁠ Instagram ⁠ ⁠ LinkedIn ⁠ Download her free ⁠ Cascade Communication Guide ⁠ ☕ Join the Coffee No Cream Community We talk about career, confidence, workplace trauma, healing, and navigating life as Black women, without apology. ► ⁠Join the private Facebook group ⁠ ► ⁠Access 2,000+ free educational resources ⁠ ► ⁠Book a Motion Hour with Erin⁠ to figure out your next step ⏰ TIMESTAMPS (0:00) Is Code Switching Really a Bad Thing? (3:48) “We Talk Like White Girls” (6:18) We Change How We Communicate All the Time (10:50) “I Don’t Play Corporate Games” (13:15) Code Switching or Strategic Communication? (16:10) “So What If I Sound White?” (18:05) Are You Still Being Authentic? (20:10) “I Got There Through the Front Door” (25:00) Reframing Code Switching as a Power Move (29:00) Getting Accused of “Talking White” (33:00) Stop Performing for White Comfort (34:27) Using Communication to Get What You Want (38:30) How Strategic Relationships Create Opportunities (42:15) Corporate America Wants You to Feel Powerless (46:00) Do Black Women Need to Be More Calculating? (51:00) The Target That Comes With Wanting More (56:00) Why Are You Changing How You Communicate? (59:00) Taking the Shame Out of Code Switching (1:02:00) Communication, Leadership and Purpose

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  Coffee No Cream

  Coffee No Cream Summer Rewind #7 – Black Women Bodies Are Ringing their Stress Alarm Bells

  Aug 26, 202638 min

  Black women, if you're experiencing chest pains, headaches, hair loss, anxiety, the Sunday Scaries... I could go on. And you're brushing them off, thinking they're normal. They're not. We're under attack, and we've been under attack.This is the final episode in our Summer Rewind series, and it's the one that ties the physical cost of all of it together. Dr. Kimani Norrington-Sands breaks down what chronic workplace stress can actually turn into: hair loss, rising blood pressure, even PTSD symptoms. Natasha Williams shares her research on what she calls the "taxes" Black professionals pay every day, including the number that stopped me: 63% of the people she surveyed reported being affected by severe health conditions from this. And Sheri tells the story of the stroke she had at 39, including being told by a doctor that she was "too young" to be having one.This isn't about scaring you. It's about naming what's actually happening in our bodies, so we stop calling it normal. Episodes Highlighted Episode 49 w/Dr. Kimani Norrington-Sands Episode 18 w/Abby The Attorney Episode 9 w/Michele Hardiman-Forbes Episode 50 w/Natasha Williams Episode 16 w/Valencia Dantzler Episode 38 w/Sheri Gray Episode 19 w/Erin ☕ 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 (3:01) We Come In Already Qualified (6:29) Dr. Kimani Norrington-Sands: Hair Loss, Blood Pressure & PTSD (21:05) Natasha Williams: "Death By A Thousand Cuts" (21:53) Natasha Williams: 63% Of Us Are Affected (25:59) Sheri: The Stroke (27:38) Sheri: "You're Too Young"

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  Coffee No Cream

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

  Aug 19, 202643 min

  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 Highlighted Episode 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

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