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In this day and age of high-speed internet connectivity and affordable computers, it’s easy to catch up on the latest shows and movies thanks to video subscription services like Netflix and Amazon Video. However, are they as crucial to your daily life as you think they are, or are they just being a nuisance?

In this article, we’re going to take a look if you really need video subscriptions or if they’re just forcing you to spend money you could be saving.

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Regular television still has great programs to watch

It’s probably been a while since you’ve looked at a UK TV guide or seen a schedule for cable channels, but many of the latest and greatest shows are still exclusive to television and won’t come to video subscriptions for a long time if ever.

There are plenty of fantastic shows on regular television broadcasts including news and sports. While video on demand is a great way to watch specific shows and movies, there’s still a lot to watch on regular television.

Video subscriptions are surprisingly limited

Sure, if you’re on a movie binge and you want to catch the latest films from the past few years then Netflix is a fantastic option. It seems like there’s a massive selection of things to watch and you’ll be able to get your money’s worth. However, once you’ve had the subscription for a few months, it really starts to show just how limited your video subscription service is.

To make things worse, choices are often limited by regions as well. For instance, what you can watch in the United Kingdom is drastically different from the choice you get in the United States. In addition, movies tend to come and go as “exclusives” which can make you want to keep your subscription for longer.

Video subscriptions are also fairly outdated

While some shows are fantastic and exclusive to their platforms, most films are actually somewhat outdated. This means that you’ll be able to catch up on old films, but there’s nothing recent that you can watch unless it wasn’t popular and went straight to a video subscription service.

This means that if you’re looking to watch films, you’ll have a surprisingly limited library to pick from and this isn’t such a great choice for movie lovers.

You don’t own any of your movies or shows

Sooner or later, Netflix is either going to be taken down or the licenses for certain shows will be stripped away. This means that you’ll end up in a situation where the shows you love are no longer watchable and you’ll either need a physical copy (such as a DVD or BluRay) or you’ll need to hope another video subscription service has it.

DVD and BluRay copies can be relatively cheap, especially during sales periods, and you can always buy them second-hand from sites like eBay. In short, if you really want to preserve your favourite films and watch them at any time, owning them is the best option.

Everyone has aims in life and we all have good days and bad days where those aims seem miles away. The key to life? Have a plan. Identify what it is you want and make a plan to get there and with the right habits in place, you can boost your mood when you are feeling down. 

Some people feel good about themselves by setting career goals. Those who want to go to the army cadets often feel closer to their goals when they buy Tactical Clothing. Those who want to become airline pilots do what they can to be in the sky. The idea is that if you can find things that make you feel good about yourself in life, you’re already halfway to happiness and you can reach your goals. Let’s take a look at some other simple ways you can feel good about yourself.

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1. Spend some time outside if you want to feel fantastic. You need to feel motivated and you need to feel like you are achieving something, and being cooped up inside can make that very difficult. Get outside and spend time in the sun. you will naturally feel good and feel like you can do anything. The brain changes when you are healthier on the inside and the outside.
2. Feel good on the outside by wearing what makes you happy. If you want to be a powerhouse in the boardroom, wear power suits and look the part. You need to dress to be the person you want to be. This will enable you to feel like you are achieving something!
3. Stay as active as possible and do it to feel good, not necessarily to get fit and lose weight. If you want to boost your mood, then being active is the best way to do it. Feeling good hormones and chemicals in the brain makes you feel euphoric and happy, and exercise doesn’t have to be anything massively strenuous. A brisk walk can have the same effect!
4. Where possible, practice being kind. You will feel excellent about yourself if you can just show the world that you are a good, kind person. Developing compassion for yourself is going to make a world of difference.
5. Plan to help others. If you know that you need people around you to feel boosted, be that person for other people. You can volunteer your time where you can and help others – just to be nice. You can help yourself, and studies have shown that those who complete three to four acts of kindness per week are better off within themselves overall.

Feeling good about yourself is important. You need to be able to hit those goals you have in life while looking, feeling and acting good – which you already do day to day. Keep on with it and you will be able to achieve anything you want to achieve. Goals are there to be met, and you can achieve those goals with some action on your part!

A business is hard to run when everything is going well, but when things start to get tough, it goes from hard to a nightmare. The market is always changing because the things people want are always changing, and the things they want from businesses are also always changing. You’ve got to be able to keep up with this, and then work out what you can do to keep your business going. Usually, as long as you’ve got certain elements to your business, you’re going to be okay, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be constantly trying to improve anyway. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at how you can keep your business going even through the tough times to give you the help you might need. Keep reading if you want to find out more.

Cut Costs Where You Can

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Something that we highly recommend is when times get tough, you cut costs where you can. Now, we know that this is far easier said than done, but you’ve got to learn how to do this if you want to stay afloat. It might be the case that you are struggling financially, but you simply can’t figure out where you can cut costs to make ends meet easier. If you find yourself in this situation, then you’re going to need someone who is trained in finances to come and help you. They will be able to go through your accounts and find some kind of solution to the problem you’re currently facing. Sadly, it might not be an answer that you want to hear, such as letting people go, but if it’s the only solution, then there is nothing that you can do.

Hopefully, there will be departments that can cut their spending instead and it won’t come to getting rid of some of your workforce. But, if it does come down to this, you always need to cut the people who either aren’t doing their job as effectively as you thought they would or the people who aren’t essential. This is going to be tough, but it’s how you keep your business going when things get hard.

Keep Up Great Customer Service

Have you sat down and thought about the one thing that has the ability to make or break your business more than anything else? Customer service is the backbone of everything you do because you don’t treat your customers well, they aren’t going to keep using your company, and they aren’t going to recommend you to the people that they know either. You need to ensure that you are keeping every single customer you have on your side and loyal to your business. Send them promotional code in an email, make sure you handle any issues they have swiftly and with kindness. Simple things like this mean a lot to your customers, never forget that.

Keep Up With Your Marketing

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When things get tough, one of the departments that businesses tend to give up on is marketing, but this is a huge mistake. Marketing is still one of the most essential parts of your entire business, and you need to have a huge focus on it. This is the way that you’re going to get more customers, which is what makes it so essential. How else are you going to advertise who you are and what you do? People want excitement from your marketing campaign, they want to see something different, something engaging, and if you cut back on the marketing budget, this might not be possible.

Of course, there are some lower budget options that can be looked into. For example, if someone comes across something when they are scrolling on their phone that they think might be useful, they can use one of a number of screen recorder apps to make sure that the idea is captured. Of course, you might not be able to use that exact thing that has been recorded, but it’s a way to get ideas on a page. Using social media is also a low budget way of marketing your business. Your marketing team can deal with this though, you don’t need to worry about it. A push for new clients is essential when times get tough, and you can’t afford to let go of your chance to get them.

Make Sure Your Employees Are Happy

The final thing that we are going to suggest is that you make sure that your employees are happy. There is nothing worse than having employees working for you who are miserable because this means they won’t be doing their best. If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘a happy employee is a hard-working employee’, this is what you should always be aiming for. If you notice that there is a problem with someone, talk to them and see if there is anything that you can do to help. It might simply be that they are struggling and don’t know how to ask you for help. You’ve got to aim to be a boss that people feel comfortable coming to talk to when something is up because this will make them feel happier working for your company.

If you want to boost the happiness of the office as a whole, why not introduce something like treat day once per month? It doesn’t have to be anything big or fancy, but this is a day where you bring in a box of donuts or something to show your appreciation for the people who work for you. It’s a small gesture, but it lets people know they are appreciated, boosting their mood.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see how you can keep your business going even through the tough times. If you do all the things that we’ve mentioned on this list, you are more than likely to see your business through anything. Prioritize your business for this time period, and everything is going to be okay. Good luck!

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