Katie Coleman spent more than a decade building her career as a makeup artist and used to earn more than $250,000 a year, but it all came crashing down when hackers destroyed her business and demanded a fortune to get it back.
The devastating blow, which ended up ending her business, was the second major professional setback in Katie’s life.
She was a professional dancer, but an ankle injury shattered her dreams of a life on stage.
“I fell into the art of makeup because I did it myself growing up for dancing,” Katie told FEMAIL.
“I did a make-up course when I was 21 and my goal was to book one wedding a week – I never expected it to all blow up so quickly.”
Katie has worked at Melbourne Fashion Week, done campaigns for brands such as Australis, been hired to do makeup for Miss Universe Australia contestants and regularly worked with model photographers for photo shoots.
‘My entire business was centered around my Instagram account – it’s what I used to talk to clients and make bookings.
‘One night I posted a huge video and expected to wake up to my account exploding. My phone rang at 2am with a suspicious login attempt and I was logged out of my account.
Katie Coleman spent over a decade building her career as a makeup artist from the ground up and used to earn over $250,000 a year.
The professional was originally a dancer but a devastating ankle injury ‘shattered’ her dreams
“I went to try to reset my password, but I got an email from someone telling me to check my WhatsApp.”
Katie’s WhatsApp revealed a sinister message from an unknown number in Singapore demanding she transfer 400,000 bitcoins to them within 72 hours if she wanted to regain access to her account.
‘I was 36 weeks pregnant and I remember getting into the shower and sobbing because everything was gone. My content, my leads, my entire business was based on it.
‘My stomach fell to the floor and I felt physically unwell. My heart was racing and I couldn’t breathe.
‘I checked the bitcoin conversion rate and it was over 120,000 Australian dollars; we definitely couldn’t afford that at all. Even if we could, there was no guarantee I would ever get my account back.
Still, Katie spent $5,000 hiring people in Australia who tried to recover her account without success.
His Instagram account was deleted three days later because he did not transfer the money.
The hack also came at a particularly tumultuous time because Katie’s husband had just been told he had to move interstate for work.
‘I had just opened a studio in Mornington, on the high street. I had two contractors working for me, so finding out I had lost all my content, all my leads, and my entire portfolio was heartbreaking,” Katie said.
“Especially since I was about to make the move interstate to rebuild again with a newborn baby.”
Katie lost several of the brand deals and packages she had with PR agencies because she no longer had a following.
The mother also lost 5 kg in a month due to the stress and anxiety of the situation.
Katie (above) worked at Melbourne Fashion Week, did campaigns for brands such as Australis, was hired to do makeup for Miss Universe Australia contestants and regularly worked with model photographers for photo shoots.
She took time off work to reevaluate how she wanted to proceed while giving birth and adjusting to life as a mother of two.
Katie hired a business coach who suggested she rebuild her entire account and document the process as a “manifesto” to sell to other small business owners.
His new account gained 29,000 followers in six months and sold $90,000 worth of courses on how to build a business from scratch.
“My life could have taken two paths,” he said.
“I could have completely collapsed and abandoned my business, or I could have used the situation I found myself in to rebuild and help other makeup artists achieve their goals.”
The mother wondered if the stunt was a message from the universe to slow down.
Katie sometimes wonders if the stunt was a message from the universe to slow down.
“At the time I was working seven days a week and I missed a lot of developments with my son,” she said.
‘I couldn’t go to swimming lessons, or do things at the weekend, and with the way I wanted to expand my business, it just wouldn’t have worked.
“When I got hacked and moved interstate, I had to reevaluate my goals and wanted to stay home more with my kids.”
Katie then recorded videos and tutorials on how people can optimize their small businesses, and the Instagram segment costs just $27.
He has helped more than 800 companies grow with his experience.
“I would never have become the person and businesswoman I am today without that really stressful experience, so I’m really glad it happened,” she said.
