I'm so pleased to welcome you to Home Biz Chicks, which for me has been a dream come true!

Since starting my own home-based public relations business six months after the birth of my first child, I've been amazed by the network of women I've encountered who are entrepreneurs in the making!

There's a spirit of generosity and kindness among women who work from home that is contagious -- and I hope you feel it here at Home Biz Chicks.

So, how did it all begin?

Before turning to home-based business, I enjoyed a career as a journalist and public relations executive. Being a journalist had been my lifelong ambition. It was all I ever wanted to be. During my 20s I worked primarily in radio and loved the adrenalin of hourly deadlines, and the thrill of the chase.

By the time I was in my late 20s, I had a morality check and started to question the value of my job. What was I contributing to the world? Unfortunately, I realised my impact was mostly negative. Bad news sells and I was immersed in it.

It took me a few more years of wrestling with this thought -- I even tried to introduce a 'good news' segment into my regular news bulletins, but was over-ruled by management. There was no alternative but to move on and into the world of public relations where I could be the purveyor of positivity!

I spent the next seven years promoting Tourism Western Australia and the state of Western Australia as a world class holiday destination. It was a well paid job with great national and overseas travel, but I always felt that I needed to do something more -- that I had a greater contribution to make.

Along the way I was married, divorced, and did much soul searching (and spent countless dollars on therapy!) to work out what it was that would make me happy. I finally realised that what I really wanted was to be a mother -- a bit of a shock for someone who saw themselves as a successful business executive! I feel very fortunate to have realised this truth before my biological clock stopped ticking.

I was also extremely lucky to meet my wonderful husband, Manny and fall pregnant soon after we married. In fact, you could say she was a honeymoon baby - we were married in March and she was born in December of the same year (albeit 3 weeks early!).

I still find it incredible that it took the birth of my daughter for me to dare to think that I could be successful on my own. I'd considered it from time to time, but the thought of starting a business, not to mention dealing with book keeping, accounts, creating a web site etc etc was enough to dampen my enthusiasm.

Perhaps if I didn't have the motivation of wanting to care for my baby none of this would have happened - and I'm so glad it did! I couldn't imagine putting my cherished bundle into child care at a young age. And, after six months at home, the thought of returning to an office in the city was not one I wanted to entertain.

But, like many of you I needed to earn an income and contribute to the household. I decided to start freelancing in my field of expertise, public relations. I started a business called Bliss Communications, which has been a great success (I only wish I'd had the courage to make the leap into home-based business before children!).

Bliss Communications has brought me into contact with some amazing women, many of whom have fantastic entrepreneurial spirit but lack the right advice and guidance to make their business ideas a reality.

I realised that others could benefit from the research I did and lessons I learned in setting up Bliss Communications. I also knew that my network of other successful women across different fields could provide great advice and support.

Home Biz Chicks was born from the idea of bringing together a team of experts to help women live the life of their dreams. My aim is to provide women who work from home with the means and know-how to live a life of abundance.

I'm fortunate to have two teenage step daughters and be the mother of two girls aged three and 9 months.

Manny also works from home and is CEO of Icon Tourism, a successful tourism consultancy.

Home is Perth, Western Australia -- a short walk from beautiful white sandy beaches and stunning sun sets over the Indian Ocean.

We are living the life of our dreams, raising our children together and bound by nothing but our own imaginations and determination for success.

And the good news is - you can too!

Sue Papadoulis