Katie Coleman spent more than a decade building her career as a makeup artist and used to make over $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 career 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 makeup artistry from doing it on myself throughout my childhood for dance,’ Katie said told FEMAIL.
‘I did a makeup course when I was 21 and my goal was to book one wedding a week – I never expected it to blow up so quickly.’
Katie worked Melbourne Fashion week, did campaigns for brands like Australis, was hired to do makeup on Miss Universe Australia contestants, and regularly worked with model photographers for photo shoots.
‘My whole business was centred around my Instagram account – it’s what I used to speak to clients and make bookings.
‘I posted a huge reel one night and expected to wake up to my account blowing up. My phone pinged at 2am with a suspicious login attempt and I’d been 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 make over $250,000 a year
The professional was originally a dancer but a devastating ankle injury ‘shattered’ her dreams
‘I went to try and reset my password but I had 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 them 400,000 bitcoin within 72 hours if she wanted access to her account back.
‘I was 36 weeks pregnant and I remember getting in the shower and just sobbing because everything was gone. My content, my leads, my entire business was built on it.
‘My stomach dropped to the floor and I felt physically sick. My heart was racing and I couldn’t breathe.
‘I checked the bitcoin conversion rate and it was more than AUD$120,000 – we definitely couldn’t afford that at all. Even if we could, there was no guarantee I’d ever get my account back.’
Still, Katie spent $5,000 hiring people in Australia who tried to get her account back to no avail.
Her Instagram account was deleted three days later when she didn’t transfer the money.
The hacking also came as a particularly tumultuous time because Katie’s husband had just been told he had to move interstate for work.
‘I’d only just opened up a studio in Mornington on the main street. I had two contractors who worked for me so to find out that I’d lost all my content, all my leads, and my entire portfolio was heartbreaking,’ Katie said.
‘Especially because I was about to make the move interstate to rebuild again with a newborn baby.’
Katie lost several of her brand deals and packages she had in place with PR agencies because she no longer had a following.
The mum also lost 5kg in a month because of the stress and anxiety from the situation.
Katie (above) worked Melbourne Fashion week, did campaigns for brands like Australis, was hired to do makeup on Miss Universe Australia contestants, and regularly worked with model photographers for photo shoots
She took some time off work to reassess how she wanted to proceed while she gave birth and adjusted to life as a mum-of-two.
Katie hired a business coach who suggested she rebuild her whole account and document the process as a ‘manifesto’ to sell to other small business owners.
Her new account gained 29,000 followers in six months and she has sold $90,000 worth of courses about how to build a business from scratch.
‘My life could have gone two ways,’ she said.
‘I could have absolutely crumbled and given up on my business, or I could have utilised the situation I’ve been in to rebuild and help other makeup artists achieve their goals.’
The mum wondered if the hack was a message from the universe to slow down
Katie sometimes wonders if the hack was a message from the universe to slow down.
‘I was working seven days a week at the time and I missed a lot of firsts with my son,’ she said.
‘I couldn’t go to swimming lessons, things on weekends, and with the way I wanted to scale my business – it just wouldn’t have worked.
‘When I got hacked and moved interstate I had to reassess my goals, and I wanted to stay home more with my kids.’
Katie then recorded videos and tutorials on how people can optimise their small businesses – and the Instagram segment is only $27.
She has helped over 800 business grow with her experience.
‘I never wouldn’t grown into the person and entrepreneur I am today without that really stressful experience, so I’m actually glad it happened,’ she said.
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