text: When Catherine Gerhardt got her business of the ground, she chose to reach out to her competitors and ask them if they were interested in collaborating. While most ignored her offer, she did receive one response so nasty, that the thought of it still fires her up. 'I felt as though I had been punched in the gut,' Ms Gerhardt told Daily Mail Australia. After reaching out to competitors only to receive a nasty response, Catherine Gerhardt now uses her experiences to educate other adults and children on how to deal with online 'flamers' She teaches the children to follow ICE: Ignore, Communicate and Exit in order to deter bullies . 'He basically responded saying that I could never know as much as he knows, it was a total power play.' Ms Gerhardt chose to employ the same initiatives she teaches to young children through her Melbourne company, Kidproof Safety, and completely ignore the bully. 'When dealing with a 'flamer' or troll, all you want to do is respond to justify yourself,' she said. 'But I tell the children to instead follow 'ICE' and Ignore, Communicate and Exit.' Much like a Troller, a 'flamer' sends messages with the intention to hurt the recipient and get a reaction. An internet troll often trawls through social media, hunting for victims, while a 'flamer' (like in Ms Gerhardt's case) waits for the victim to contact them and unleashes a hateful response. Ms Gerhardt tells her students that by ignoring, the bully is being frozen in their tracks with nowhere to go. Then by communicating the incident to an adult and then exiting the situation, the behaviour is not escalated. She advises those experiencing this behaviour to try and not take it personally. Ms Gerhardt tells her students that by ignoring, the bully is being frozen in their tracks with nowhere to go . An internet troll often trawls through social media, hunting for victims, while a 'flamer' waits for the victim to contact them and unleashes a hateful response . Along with the ICE motto, Ms Gerhardt, in her early 40's, also advises adults and children who witness others being 'flamed,' to employ 'ACT.' 'Assess' the situation, 'Calm' yourself down before getting involved and 'Tell' someone about the bullying behaviour,' she said. 'Bullying-related suicides often happen because ICE and ACT haven't worked that well and the victim has had a difficult time exiting the situation.' If, for business purposes, the victim must respond to the 'flamer,' Ms Gerhardt has advised that via email is not ideal. 'With email, it's all about the tone,' she said. 'I would personally step up and attempt a person to person conversation rather than over email.' Ms Gerhardt believes that internet bullies are seeking a reaction from as many people as possible. 'They just want to stir the pot,' she said. 'I live by the mantra, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.'
target: Catherine Gerhardt reached out to competitors when she started business .
  She was ignored by most but received one nasty email from a 'flamer'
  Ms Gerhardt chose to employ 'ICE' and Ignore, Communicate and Exit .
  She teaches this same policy to children through her company Kidproof .
  A Flamer sends messages with intention to hurt the victim and get reaction .