Thanks to TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms, it seems like the world is again starting to take notice of small businesses and their owners.
Small businesses used to be the only businesses that there were and now every other day we find out that our “niche” brand is actually owned by Amazon or Google or Disney. So it can be nice when we stumble upon a creator with unique pieces.
It gives a face and a personality to the pieces we love so much. We also, thanks to the internet, get to see just how much work goes into being a small business owner. And in some less fortunate cases, we get to see how much business owners get taken advantage of.
This was the case for Imi Studios, a small business owned by Imogen Evans that creates unique clothing, accessories, and home decor pieces.
An influencer reached out to her to borrow a nail set and a pair of sunglasses for a music video. According to Imogen, the agreement was that he covered the express shipping so that he could use the products and then eventually get them back to her.
Then, two months go by and not only has she not received any reimbursement for the cost of international express shipping, he also hasn’t returned any of the items she loaned to him. After she messaged him several times, he told her he would tag her for the products when the promo for the video was released.
According to this influencer, he usually charges thousands of dollars to simply tag a creator, so to him, this was an equivalent trade.
Imogen pointed out that not only did this not hold up their agreement, but it seemed very backward that he made thousands in a post, but didn’t mind her business being out the money and the inventory because he refused to uphold an agreement.
He fired back that her demanding payment but refusing his promo was immoral because he didn’t have to shoot with her pieces, that she wanted to work with him, and that he usually “makes” designers to do gifted collabs so he doesn’t have to endure this back and forth.
In response, she sent a screenshot of him asking to work with her. Not the other way around, like he said. To which he responded that she’d sent the pieces so obviously she’d wanted to work with him a little bit, but as Imogen pointed out that was under the agreement that she would get her money and items.
Commenters are just as confused and outraged as Imogen, several of them pointing out that this is literally theft. Some advised her to include contracts in her item loans, and others were quick to reassure her that conducting her business as agreed and sticking up for herself only reflects well on her and her company.
She later posted an update saying that she’d agreed with the influencer and his manager that she would take the video down as soon as she received payment for her work and that she had received a PayPal receipt, but it has yet to come through.
Unfortunately, some followers took their loyalty to her much too far and have been messaging, threatening, and calling this influencer homophobic slurs, an action she says she absolutely does not support. So now he and his team are threatening to expose her brand for being homophobic.
Because of how big her original video got, she’s now in contact with the manager, who she says makes the original guy look like Mother Theresa.
In one final update, she notes that she still hasn’t received payment and she got in touch with PayPal over the receipt she was sent and PayPal said the transaction didn’t exist. In the chat she was added to with the influencer and his manager, the manager seemed to be threatening her with lawyers and connections and the impending threat of an attempt to ruin her brand.
You know, because hiring a legal team is much cheaper than the couple hundred that she’s asking for. Fans are not having it. Although she asked them not to go attack this creator personally, they’re quick to let her know in the comment section that they think he’s far too irrelevant to be treating her this way.
He also claimed she was doing this all for clout, and it was never about the money. But seeing as she’s willing to remove her post once she gets payment, it does seem to literally only be about the money.
Regardless, they essentially utilized this little group DM to gaslight and threaten her while she attempted to conduct her business and get what they’d agreed upon.
Imogen did confirm that she does send out waivers before incidents like this one, and this is by no means the first time she’s found herself in this situation, and according to the comment section, it isn’t the first time this particular influencer has screwed a business over. But, Imogen is afraid to start charging people for loans, because then fewer people will be styled with her products.
According to Imogen, celebrity and influencer stylists often don’t have any budget, which means they can only afford borrowed pieces. The people at the top don’t want to pay to be dressed and styled, so many stylists and brands are working for free, just for exposure or experience.
The best way to help is to support small businesses monetarily or on social media, Imogen even encouraged business owners watching to leave a description of their company in the comments.
As for Imogen’s situation, her original video is still up, so it doesn’t seem like she’s gotten her payment. And according to a recent update, sticking up for herself publicly has caused her brand to take a bit of a hit, with fewer and fewer stylists reaching out to collaborate.
But she has hundreds of thousands of people on her side, so if this influencer or his manager tries to destroy her, thousands of fans and followers have the truth and a newfound appreciation for small businesses.