Thousands of total strangers helped a mother-of-two save her small business after her Instagram account was hacked and she lost access to it.
After her Instagram account was hacked, Nikki Golding, 36, of Ipswich, discovered that orders for her children's clothing company had completely stopped.
She started a new page and made an emotional video that went viral explaining what had happened.
"It's amazing how many strangers have helped me. It has altered my way of life.
It has continued my business. It just proves that kindness is stronger than all other forces, she said.
With nearly 50,000 followers after eight years of operation, she started Rose and Guy. Today, 95% of her business is conducted on social media.
Her page was disabled after she managed to oust the hackers who had taken over her account by refusing to comply with their demands for money.
Because she was so concerned that it would encourage them to harm other people, she said she couldn't bear the idea of paying them.
She realized she would have to start over if her business was to survive after experiencing no sales on Friday.
I was in tears and desperately trying to contact Instagram, but neither I received any responses or assistance, the woman claimed.
Luke Hamnett, a popular TikTok user, and the actors Jacqueline Jossa and Jessica Fox all shared a moving video she posted on her new page. Since then, there have been 22 million views.
The number of followers on Mrs. Golding's new account has nearly 70,000, and website traffic has increased by 200%.
I had my best sales weekend ever, and it was all because of the people who shared my video—from other small business owners to celebrities and total strangers. I'm sincerely grateful to them.
She continued, "These awful hackers could have completely destroyed my business, but this has been overcome by all of the love and kindness, and I'm just so grateful.
Instagram stated that it takes community safety and security very seriously.
"We advise everyone to set up strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and to be wary of emails or messages that request personal information. Visit our help center to secure your account if you're worried that you may have been hacked. ".
