In this powerful and relatable episode of Just Us, Liz and Kere are joined by special guest Erica Fulton—entrepreneur, esthetician, and founder of Kin Skin & Wellness—for a real conversation about one of the hardest skills to master in the workplace: saying no.
Responding to a listener who feels trapped in a cycle of overcommitment, the trio unpacks the pressure many high-achieving Black women face to always say “yes”—and the burnout, invisibility, and frustration that often follow. From “performance punishment” to internalized expectations, they break down how we become the go-to person… and how to reclaim our time, voice, and boundaries.
With practical strategies like “soft no’s,” capacity language, prioritization, and even a game-changing email scheduling hack, this episode is both a mindset reset and a tactical guide to self-advocacy at work. Plus, the conversation expands beyond the office—challenging listeners to examine where else “yes” is costing them peace.
And because it’s Just Us, the episode wraps with a hilarious and all-too-real segment: Top 10 Ways to Disagree Using Black Conversation—proving you don’t always need words to say “absolutely not.”
If you’ve ever felt like a “professional yes ma’am,” this episode is your permission slip to do things differently.
⏱️ Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome to Just Us + Meet Guest Erica Fulton
01:15 – The Readout: “I’m tired of always saying yes at work”
02:40 – The pressure of being a Black woman in corporate spaces
04:15 – “Performance punishment” and the cost of overdelivering
07:05 – How to say no (without actually saying “no”)
09:00 – When your boss makes you the go-to for everything
10:45 – Self-advocacy: Asking “what should I deprioritize?”
12:00 – Pushback vs. people-pleasing
13:00 – Are you doing this to yourself? (Internal expectations)
15:00 – Managing the anxiety of saying no
16:00 – The “sleep at night” test
17:00 – Why leaders don’t actually want yes-people
18:00 – Burnout risk: What happens when you never say no
20:00 – Mindset shift: Are you creating unnecessary pressure?
21:30 – Real-life story: When work isn’t more important than life
23:00 – Setting boundaries in real time (Kere’s example)
25:00 – Understanding urgency vs. perceived urgency
26:30 – Teaching people how to treat you
27:45 – 🔥 Pro Tip: Use scheduled email send to manage expectations
30:00 – Why you shouldn’t make everything look “too easy”
31:00 – Boundaries beyond work (friends, family, business)
33:00 – You created it—you can fix it
35:00 – Practical tools: capacity language + prioritization
36:30 – Documenting conversations to protect yourself
38:00 – Final advice: You don’t have to say yes
40:00 – Final thoughts: Capacity, burnout, and self-awareness
😂 Bonus Segment
41:50 – Top 10 Ways to Disagree Using Black Conversation
43:00 – Honorable mentions (“Girl, bye”, “I said what I said”)
45:25 – Top 10 countdown begins
50:00 – #1 way to disagree (no words needed 👀)
51:00 – Viral “Black conversation” moment explained
52:30 – Closing + where to connect
