The power of social media brought more than 20 vibrant women together for an informal meeting and lunch at Harrogate's Kimberley Hotel and since the event they have been tweeting and e-mailing each other to support one another.

The unique idea for a support network and social forum for Harrogate ladies was devised by Rachel Auty and Ella Gascoigne.

"We are very keen for BLaH (Business Ladies around Harrogate) to be a very different business group and to become known for being really effective at supporting local women with establishing and building their businesses," said Rachel, who established her freelance creative marketing consultancy Four Front Marketing (Twitter @marketerach) in February 2009 following redundancy and a year as a stay-at-home-mum.

She works with all types of businesses as their virtual marketing department or as a flexible additional resource, specialising in strategic and online marketing.

Ella, whose business Startup PR (@StartupPRella) provides publicity to help businesses grow, said: "The group is very informal and free to join and is not in any way geared up for hardcore networking. We meet every month and our strapline is 'Share knowledge, skills, experiences, and banter!'

The women who attended the launch event all run their own businesses from home and cover a wide range of sectors. Beverley Kemp (@Harrogatehotel) bought Arden House Hotel in 2007 and has fully refubished the rooms, expanded and increased turnover by a quarter. She also runs serviced apartments through her business Harrogate Elite Living.

Rachael Dunseath (@millyflossy @myrooskincare) created myroo skincare last year after spotting a gap in the market for natural, handmade and desirable skincare. She creates her own and also offers a baby range under her milly & flossy brand.

Manda Mills (@manda1702) runs a furniture consultancy offering Italian furniture for the residential and hotel and leisure markets, as well as commercial interior packages, and has 20 years' industry experience.

Elisa Cirulli is passionate about interior design and beautiful home styling and finds her Italian background the well of her inspiration at Elisa Interiors ( www.elisainteriors.com/blog). "My aim is to demonstrate how great interior design is not about how much you spend nor does it translate in simply replacing everything with something new," said Elisa.

Emma-Louise Trotter (@thebespokecakes) runs The Bespoke Cupcake Company and makes corporate cupcakes, branding and marketing tools with a touch of sparkle.All her cakes are made in her kitchen at home to order and individual requests and dietary requirements are catered for.

Penelope Tiffney of Spatial designers (@Spatialdesigner) is a professionally qualified Interior Architectural Designer with a portfolio of completed commercial and residential projects across the UK and Europe. Currently designing new halls of residences, offering hotel style accommodation for students at University of Leeds.

Victoria Kieran runs her own health and safety consultancy offering H&S competent person provision packages for SMEs, risk assessments, accident investigations and training. She has worked at senior management level in the public and private sector and now enjoys running her own venture, Accomplish Health and Safety Solutions (Harrogate).

Jane Hollingworth is director of Flamboyant Creations which offers flamboyant, high quality photo albums, presentation boxes and contemporary acrylic feature frames for both the personal and commercial photographers market.

Dr Jane Beasley (@wastespecialist) runs Beasley Associates Ltd, a waste and resource management consultancy offering sustainable solutions for a wide range of stakeholders.

Lesley Watkinson is a Chartered Management Accountant with 15 years' experience across the spectrum from multinational companies to running her own business. She has balanced family life with work and retrained as a holistic therapist over the past five years. From setting up a spreadsheet to relieving an aching muscle, she's here to help!

Avril Steele is an Independent Phoenix Trader selling greeting cards and other creative stationery. She can work alongside charities to raise funds and does coffee mornings and get-togethers as well as selling through her website www.phoenix-trading.eu/web/avrilsteele.

Katja Gottschalk (@PCHarmony) runs PC Harmony, a business with a fresh outlook on computer services targeting mainly the home user and small businesses in and around Harrogate, offering computer repairs, upgrades and training with a personal no nonsense, non-jargon approach. She lanched after taking voluntary redundancy last April.

Hayley Hoyle (@HGWeddingLounge)runs The Harrogate Wedding Lounge, a contemporary and cosy bridal boutique on the outskirts of Harrogate. She offers a range of designer Bridal Gowns by world class designers such as Maggie Sottero, Ronald Joyce and Madeleine Gardner.

Cat Hepple (@cathepple)is a former BBC news correspondent who is now running a business Cat Hepple Photography offering stylish and creative lifestyle and commercial photography.

Journalist Rebecca Parsley has been running her PR company Montpellier Media for 3 years and is launching a new training business for small businesses called PR Partners (@PRtutors).

Wellness coach Rachel Moore has worked from home for six years in the health and nutrition industry helping people lose, gain or maintain their weight. She has just started up Arriba! Community Weight Loss Challenge class at Rossett Sports Centre on Wednesday evenings at 6.30pm. She runs a second business helping people save money on anything from groceries to petrol through her website www.easyswitchnsave.com

Amy Russell (@amyarussell) provides personalised and branded chocolate bars and has over 100 designs to choose from or can do bespoke designs, for celebrations, businesses, events and personal gifts.

The group plans to meet the first Tuesday of every month and full details can be found by following them on Twitter (@HarrogateBLaH), Facebook (www.facebook.com/HarrogateBLaH) or LinkedIn (BLAH - Business Ladies around Harrogate)