my business was DESTROYED overnight...

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Community. Spence, I am a 72 year old retired 6th grade teacher of 32 years. I love woodworking like you and I was never able to quit my day job of teaching. I retired at 55. Through hard work with absolutely ZERO formal training, I created Smith's Cabinetry and Fine Furniture. Still plugging away, I built my 17th kitchen last summer. The money went to new steel on my pole barn. Do not give up your dream but trust no one or no body or no entity other than yourself. I am very new to utube. Keep fighting the good fight. Tim.

Community: One thing you can do when things like this happen is get your followers to post about it on Instagram's twitter feed. When lots of people start drawing negative attention to their feed they normally deal with the issue and review it properly. Also reach out to other larger channels to publicise the problem and get their followers to pile on too. I have seen this work multiple times now.

Community: I am a business owner that has spent the last 20 years starting and growing my business. In 2020 I watched the Pandemic turn half the world into useful idiots for ideologically constipated causes. Like you I reluctantly took a woodworking class in High school, and really took to it, so when we were all trapped in our homes I decided to build a shop, and begin building cabinets and remodeling our home, and furniture that my wife had been begging to buy for years. I quickly realized that many of our friends and neighbors were highly impressed and began putting in orders. It’s no get rich plan, but I have paid for my shop and tools now, and continue to learn from and be inspired but people like yourself that love to learn and are passionate about creating. More power to you and I wish you all the success you deserve.

Community. Really sorry that happened to you, and hope it gets resolved. This was the first video of yours that I stumbled on, but I look forward to checking out your woodworking content. Your ability to turn this into a positive message and try to help others avoid similar pitfalls is inspiring. I wish you all the best!

This is literally the first video from your channel that I have seen, stay strong my dude. I'm down for the woodworking thing.

I'm really sorry to hear what instagram did to you and I hope you can/have recovered. Here's the lesson for us all - we cannot rely on faceless multinational companies to platform us. We have to expect that one day that platform will be taken away, or stop paying like it used to, or be bought up and change entirely. These companies are not our friends, we are literally their products.

Community. Thanks for sharing your experience. I had a similarly tragic story... When I retired from the military, I thought I'd become a small-time videographer in my city because it was something that I loved doing. Just as I was starting up, though, my state stopped offering tax incentives to major production companies to come to our state to produce movies and TV. Within just a couple of months, 90% of the production businesses in our state had shut down or moved elsewhere. That left hundreds of film and video professionals looking for work and instantly competing with me. Soon, I had to take a job in admin at a big company and become an unhappy cog in a big machine (with many other unhappy cogs). Now, I'm retired from that, too. Today, I spend my time and money in my garage workshop making stuff out of wood, and I'm happy as a clam!

Community: I can’t remember ever watching any of your videos. I think you are very honest and brave to openly sharing your successes and struggles. If I were a shop teacher somewhere I would share your video with my classes. I’ll find something in one of your videos to work on. I wish the best for you. Keep the faith.

Community. What Instagram did to you is outrageous, Eric, especially in light of all of the nasty and cruel content that never seems to get the axe. I hope you can eventually get your account - and your sponsors - back. Thanks for doing what you do.

Since this may happen again, here's my tip: get a lawyer to write them a nasty letter about their claim of human exploitation, since that is defamation. Letters sent to legal departments, especially certified letters by lawyers, have a tendency to get a response from a human.

Community. I have to hand it to you. You took an unfortunate situation and you didn't show bitterness, anger, etc. You've used this as a learning experience and just as important you may have reached out to others and helped them by pointing out to have other streams of income and not all your eggs in one basket. This is the first time I've seen one of your videos and look forward to watching more. I wish you the best success.

Community: This is my first time seeing your YT channel. Point taken, and amplified, totally agree. My experience is almost the inverse of yours. As a Degreed Mechanical Engineer for nearly 40 years, it was my DAY jobs that kept folding, companies going under within months of my joining them. I have burned through 20 companies since 1985. What sustained me was my working as a Home Improvement contractor, and Historic Woodworking Restoration specialist, both started as a hobbies that I loved! After that last company blew out (didn't even get severance or unemployment!), I launched my own LLC's. And now I am official in both worlds, each a backup for the other. Stay strong, stay flexible! I wish you great success!

Community: I came across this video and it's the first time I've been exposed to your channel. Your video resonated with me because I've been in your shoes before. I've been a freelance illustrator for nearly 35 years and it's easy to wind up with most of your business income coming from a single source. There's a lot of reasons for this. One might be you have one really good client who loves working with you, they send you all the work you can handle, and they pay very well. So you start focusing your time on them, you back off on marketing yourself, and you turn down work from other clients so you can keep main client happy. Then a pandemic happens, or your client leaves the company they're working for and their replacement want to work with someone different than you. I can remember losing 80% of my business right after 9-11. But here's something that you have to remember-- you're working for yourself. You can pivot, make changes, learn from your mistakes and no one is standing in your way. When I worked at a full-time job, a single person held my livelihood in their hands. I could get fired or laid off and I'd have to either find another job or start from scratch. That's much worse than facing a temporary downturn in your business.

Community: it stinks that one entity can hold that much power with no recourse. Keep fighting and we will keep supporting.

Community. I started woodworking in my early 60's and LOVE it. Videos from people like you mean a lot to me and serve as encouragement and learning tips. Many creators share the good with the bad. Often you learn more from the "bad". Hang in there and we'll keep watching.

Community. Thanks for spreading awareness about the IG issue. Also really enjoyed the discussion about career choices and how the trades are often considered as inferior paths. It's super important for kids to know that many great opportunities are available and how to make the right decision, whether it's college, trades, military or whatever else. Good luck and thanks for the content.

Community: If I was in this situation, I'm not sure I would have opened a new account with Instagram. It's hilarious that they would delete your other account, and then allow you to open a new one. Good on you for taking the high road. Love the channel!

Community - I appreciate you taking the time to make this and keep things clean in general. God bless your efforts man.

Community, interesting that this could happen when so many actually do something wrong and don't get kicked off. I have a small space like you, but am retired so I enjoy seeing how you work things through. Good luck