The Coffee Banter Podcast

15/08/2023

Fantastic street murals in Glasgow

26/07/2023

One of the oldest cities of the world, with history and stunning architecture - Oxford was a true pleasure to visit! 🇬🇧

07/07/2023

🌺 🍫 🧿

29/06/2023

Late mornings and coffee shops ☕️ 🍃

02/06/2023

Guns & Roses 🔫&🌹
1st June 2023

28/05/2023

Unbothered 🌞

23/03/2023

Ramadan Kareem to everyone celebrating 🌙 Such a magical time of the year ✨

15/02/2023

The one with the couch!

30/10/2022

If you haven't noticed how much I adore all the colours on the warm spectrum of the colour wheel, are we even friends? 🍂

01/10/2022

Here's to never drinking coffee without something sweet with it ☕️

Happy international coffee day!

23/08/2022

Join me and tomorrow at 5:30 pm Gulf Standard Time on Instagram live as as we talk everything sales as a service provider or business owner, and on how to get clients for your business as a service provider without being too salesy.

Alia is a Marketing Consultant for high-achieving coaches and service providers. If you have a business or setting one up, you might want to tune this one in as we take live questions. You can also DM me your questions that we will take on during the broadcast!

19/08/2022

Stop right here ✋🏼

What is the first thing you do after waking up and the last activity right before bed? Is it checking the social media sites?📱

Let's talk about social media hygiene. I see mindless scrolling at dinner tables, family rooms, waiting areas and almost everywhere. When do you feel it's affecting your mental health? How do you feel when you over do it?

I personally can't stay out of the digital world for a long period of time as my work revolves around it, but how I do control the hamster wheel, is through mindful usage. I set time slots during my day where I will explore content, engage with my audience and stop right after feeling inspired. The moment I start feeling overwhelmed, I put the device away. Here's a reminder to take a break 😊

18/08/2022

Is your content strategy factoring in your unique brand voice? 💬

Do you have a strong brand character that is present in your content marketing?

With a unique voice, branded content evolves as an entity that distinguishes you, creates audience loyalty and authority content.

08/08/2022

Successful businesses can't survive if they don't have a strong brand strategy.

Without this document, everything from your content to culture and core business can suffer.

Share this information with someone building their brand right now 🎨

07/08/2022

All my essentials in one photo ☕️ 💻 🕶 👒

04/08/2022

These are Maya Angelou's words. A poet, whose words used to bring me solace during a very difficult time in my life. A moment when time stood still, going backwards was not an option, and going forward seemed impossible.

Words are instrumental. I don't believe the world should tiptoe around someone just so they don't trigger their traumas. But when you clearly see someone going through the most difficult time of their life, choose to be kind. And if you're not Maya Angelou, please don't give unsolicited advice.

02/08/2022

Which zone are you in at this exact moment? 👇🏼

30/07/2022

There's some new additions to my Instagram family, so here's a quick recap of who I am 🧚‍♀️

My name is Saniya, and I am a marketing and brand consultant. I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design a long time back 😅 and the first few years of my career were in Design & Branding. I have always been multi-passionate and curious to learn new disciplines. I moved to hardcore marketing and digital strategy in 2016 and have been working for luxury hospitality brands . Hospitality industry will always have my heart. After covid, I decided to explore consultancy work and have been since smitten by remote work. My most recent clients are from the tech industry(RPA) and I've become increasingly interested in intelligent automation ever since.

I live in Dubai, married to an amazing guy and have a 7 year old bookworm. Also, I do love a good cup of coffee ☕️

Your turn? Let's have some intros 😃

25/07/2022

Imagine your brand as a person. How would you describe their personality?

21/07/2022

Every single time I open my LinkedIn, successful people are giving subliminal messages of constant exhaustion being a marker of success. On Instagram there is a bombardment of 'rise and grind' and 'hustle harder'.

There is a constant push all the time to do more, and to eventually feel less. Coming from a career in corporate for more than 12 years, in 2020 when I decided to go pave my own path in work, I found a lot of challenges, and one of them was to set boundaries in my professional and personal life. To know when to switch off. Coming from a culture of overwork obsession, I ended up feeling guilty when I wasn't working more, feeling exhausted. 'I work for my own self' almost felt like a sham. But slowly I began realising that I was still getting work done, and finding all this free time to just be. To focus on what I love doing, to find out things about me I never even knew, because I was always occupied with work and not all of that was productive. It takes time to unlearn what you have learnt.

Do you feel annoyed too when you hear someone 'boasting' about compromising their personal life for work?

20/07/2022

Falling is easy...it's getting back up that becomes the problem.

When was the last time you decided to rise up from that fall gracefully? It could be literal or conceptual 😄

15/07/2022

It's 41 degrees here in Dubai now...Early mornings or late evenings are the only times one can enjoy a little bit of the fresh air. And I do cherish these little windows of opportunities to be out, and just breathe.

Do you like being indoors or outdoors? I heard the introverts had a blast during the pandemic lockdowns 😅
☕️

11/07/2022

Content marketing is a long game, and understanding the content marketing funnel is essential to reaching your content goals.

05/07/2022

One of the things I have missed the most whilst working in a 9-6 job (I’ve done that for 12 years) was the freedom to work from anywhere I can, at any time I want. Even though my work had no requirements of me being physically present in the office (Design and later Digital Marketing), yet it was the pre-defined norm, especially in the hospitality industry at that time and working from home was unheard of. I feel the pandemic has really forced people to change their perspectives around a remote/hybrid work model. I work 100% remote now (hence the frequent coffee shop visits). But I do sometimes miss being with my colleagues, having an abrupt chat over the water cooler. What do you prefer?

04/07/2022

If you were a personal brand, what 3 emojis would you use to describe yourself? Here's mine:
👩‍💻☕️🎙

01/07/2022

Reading books changes our way of engaging with and being in the world. I took a year long break from books, but just came back to it. If you are struggling to read these days as well, here's what might help 👇🏽

📚 Read what you want to - It could be an old favourite, an easy book, a favoured author or a funny topic, whatever 'zone' you are in life at the moment, tune in.
📚 Make a small 'to be read' list - Don't make towering reading goals. Be realistic, and keep a small list to yourself.
📚 Try to read a few passages to begin with every day, or every other day. Then stick to that routine, and time of the day, until it becomes wired in you.
📚 Don't be intimidated by 'Book Snobs' - If someone's trying to make you feel bad about what genre/author/series you are reading, you will stop reading.
📚 Join a library - Did someone say accountability? I love co-working spaces for the exact same reason. When everyone's reading, you'll be inclined to carry on too.
📚 Join a book club - Same reason as above, plus throw in extra networking opportunities.
📚 Try audio books - If there's no way you're starting that book, try an audio book. It's ok. No one's judging, and you can multi-task too!

What's your tried and tested trick to get back into reading? Or who's stopping you? Let me know!

28/06/2022

There is an immense power in being vulnerable. Owning your entire identity, your truth, all of you, the good, bad and the ugly. When you stay guarded, you deny yourself the fullness of experiences that being vulnerable offers.

26/06/2022

19/06/2022

Like it or not, at some point your life you are going to start questioning your purpose; it might be triggered by an external situation which throws you knee deep into an abyss of question marks, or you arrive at this yourself, contemplating. And after that there are only two choices: staying down or enduring rebirth.

17/06/2022

Reading. Screens are inevitable, yes. But when it comes to reading, I still prefer a physical book in my hand. There's something about holding an actual book, the feeling of turning a page, the vanilla-almond smell of old books, the industrial clean smell of a new one, the face of the book with its title, staring at you as you go by your day, reminding you it's there when you want to return to it.
I've always been a hopeless escapist with an overactive imagination, and as a child would look forward to library visits and bookstores, but would finish an entire book within a day, much to the dismay of my parents who thought it'd keep me occupied for at-least a few days.
Whatever stage of life I'm at at, books has always helped me to steer my thoughts and direction. And that keeps changing, as I evolve as a person. I feel that books have made me more open to different points of view and more understanding of people, even when they do things I disagree with.

21/05/2022

An understanding that has helped me a lot in my journey of grief, is to know that no two days are the same. I try to accept whatever emotions I am feeling each day. On certain days, letting the tide of grief sweep me with it, but always knowing it is easier if I accept and embrace it, for it doesn't last long. And on other days, looking at it coming to me in full stride but reduced to a mere splash by the time it reaches me.

Apart from the internal workings of the human mind, a lot of external factors also play role in determining how my day would be. I feel I am most happy, and better able to manage my grief on the days I have worked out, been outdoors, slept well, done something creative or had a long nice chat with people who matter.
📸

19/05/2022

I'm a Gemini and that means I want to try everything in the world atleast once. This one was a cute shoot with that turned into a slumber party with some amazing girls I met on the set.malpass @ 💛

12/05/2022

Let's get real 🌝

Consistency is something most people struggle with almost everyday. Be it workout, healthy eating, clean habits, personal rituals or schedules. But it's only this one golden key that holds the transformative results behind the big gates of everyday challenges and goals.
I truly believe in the power of small incremental everyday routines having the power to create massive results overtime. .

11/05/2022

Hello hello 👋🏼

My name is Saniya and I'm a Marketing consultant working and living in Dubai. I started this account as a way to supplement my podcast channel that goes with the same name, The Coffee Banter on all major podcast platforms. This is my pandemic baby; a passion project born purely out of love for having long deep conversations with people that lift you up, and change your views about life. As I took a small break from podcasting (more on this later), I felt I stopped posting here too. I don't want this to be a curated feed for promoting my podcasts only. I want this to be a space where I can share my thoughts, cool coffee places and a little bit of everything without thinking too much. I have nothing to sell, no audience to warm up before I approach with a sales pitch. Just me, living life, sharing spontaneously as life happens.
Few facts about me:
1- I suffered personal loss at a very young age
2- With the support of my loving family, a lot of self-help books, podcasts and an open mind, I was able to navigate through my grief journey.
3- I love my kid, like a whole lot more than I normally should. I'm that mum who shrieks and frantically waves each time I see my child at school pick up 😅
4- I love life
5- Coffee is serious for me (if you didn't know my love for lattes, do we really know each other?)
6- I'm a digital marketing consultant for a tech company 👩‍💻
7- My first job was of a Graphic Designer. It's still at the core of everything I do
8- Most of my career has been with luxury hospitality brands
9- I'm constantly self-evolving
10- I've developed a relationship with fitness quiet later in life 😅
10- I found love again 💛

How about you? Let's get to know each other!

29/03/2022

Don't just hang on, get better.
-
📸

25/03/2022

How do we live a more purpose driven life?
-
In a simple equation, it would look something like this:
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Your values + Strengths + Passions + Service = Your Purpose
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The journey we call life, is short, and unpredictable. Do things that are meaningful to you, find your 'why'. It's not easy, but if we check in with ourselves daily, slowly we'll get there.

31/12/2021

The last sunset of 2021 🌅

Closing this year with a lot of gratitude. Wishing everyone love, light and blessings✨

29/11/2021

A collaboration close to my heart 🇦🇪

To a country I call home, full of endless opportunities...happy 50th anniversary to the United Arab Emirates.

A huge thank you to team at for making me a part of such a wonderful campaign.

06/11/2021

Three things you are in control of 🌻

1- Your response to your feelings
2- What you hold on to
3- What you let go