On New Year's Eve in 1994, I gave birth to a baby girl and a new business. Crazy, yes, but it was something I had to do. Determined to be a stay-at-home-mom, I began to make my living as a home-based publicist and freelance writer. This was especially challenging since I was an orphaned single mom with no one to help me. I had to figure out a way to raise my child and earn a living in an environment that catered to both. Thank God for the Internet!

With a small investment for a monitor, mouse and telephone, I was all hooked up and dialed-in. Immediately after purchasing my computer, I hired a techie-nerd to set me up on the world wide web. I was swept away into cyberspace with a click of my mouse. I was off! I was ecstatic. I had e-mail, and I was ready to bring on the clientele. In one swift move, I tossed my fax machine out the sliding glass door and burned my paper trail. It was time to get moving, and get moving, I did. I quickly set up computer files and things started to happen.

Hooked up to a cordless telephone headset, I carried my infant from room to room, conversing with prospects as I changed dirty diapers. When my daughter slept, I worked online. Sometimes it was during Oprah, other times it was well past midnight. Being on the Internet allowed me this valuable flexibility that I otherwise never would have had.

The Internet helped me dig up new business. I wrote query letters to editors of trade journals and national magazines. I received responses and writing assignments immediately, and suffered no down-time. I no longer had to check my post office box for rejection letters or signed contracts. All of these documents were immediate accessed through e-mail.

Soon, ideas flew across my keyboard and press releases flowed from my fingertips. I was a cyberspace surfin' mama, and nothing could slow me down. After each press kit was completed and all the bios were written, I would directly e-mail my information to various editors across the world. Instead of standing in line at OfficeMax to make copies or wait for faxes, everything I needed was neatly tucked into my home office computer.

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