If you'd like to be highlighted alongside the country's most influential and accomplished women in more than 200 professions, you should get your free listing with the National Association of Professional Women, the largest network of professional women in the U.S.

The National Association of Professional Women is an exclusive network for professional women where you can interact, exchange ideas, educate, network, and empower each other. NAPW members enjoy a wealth of resources and services dedicated to the enhancement, empowerment and promotion of their careers, including seminars, podcasts, webinars, keynote speeches, educational tools, and career development programs.

This is a great opportunity to get your business recognized, so check out the NAPW site and sign up for your free Women of Distinction listing today!

Learn more: NAPW.com

This year Bebe Paluzza is holding consumer tradeshows for expecting moms, parents and grandparents looking for new products in five American cities with high birthrates. I am happy to share this with you because, as I wrote in my first book, I believe one of the best ways for new product companies to launch and grow their businesses is through consumer tradeshows. The advantage of attending a show like this is that you get invaluable customer feedback, industry contacts and a great profit margin on each sale.

If you have a new or early stage product in the juvenile market, I encourage you to consider attending. This is an affordable way to get your product out there.

To learn more, please fill out the form below...

Lending Club is a social lending network that brings together investors and creditworthy borrowers.

How Lending Club Works

There are two things that you can do at the Lending Club. You can borrow money or you can invest in the loans of borrowers.

Borrowers with good credit can get personal loans from $1,000 to $25,000 at interest rates that are often significantly better than those of conventional sources. You simply create a post on their site that describes your business or personal needs and how much you are seeking. The individual investors read your post with your request and then if they wish to support you they will make a contribution towards funding your loan.  Typically a loan gets hundreds of investors, each one pitching in as little as $25.

Investors (or Lenders) get to pick the loans they want to invest in, and their money goes immediately to Lending Club's approved borrower members.  What’s exciting about this whole concept is that you can diversify across hundreds of borrowers very quickly and easily. Since many borrowers are entrepreneurs just like you, investors get to help many companies take off.

Never invested before? Me neither, which is why I am thrilled to learn that for simply setting up an investing account with Lending Club through our partnership, you will get a $25 bonus instantly to start investing (it costs nothing to open or maintain the account).  If you choose to select a business to support, you get to select any of the qualified borrowers to fund -- that means us ladies! Think about it... we could all open a free account, get $25 and invest money supporting each other’s businesses!

For example, if Sally wants to start a Fitness Bootcamp program and decides to finance it through Lending Club, we can all sign up and invest our $25 sign-up bonus in Sally's loan.  What this means is that you have signed up with Lending Club as an investor for free, helped Sally by investing $25 into her business, and you are earning interest on it!

In fact, if you open an investment account by the end of August, Lending Club has agreed to award the Mom Inventors community a double bonus! So you can help 2 different businesses right away!

I don't know about you, but I find it particularly rewarding to earn interest on your investment while helping other members. Once you’ve tried it, I encourage you to keep investing on other loans.

Click here to get started, and open an investing account to get your bonus.

We will be posting loans of our Mom Invented community members who sign up to be Lending Club borrowers so that you can contribute to fund those loans supporting other women.

Isn’t this what it’s all about? I hope you’ll join me!

-Tamara

Enter Mint.com, an award winning free personal finance tool that helps you track your finances, stick to a budget and maximize your money by providing recommendations for bank accounts, credit cards, CDs and more that can give you the best rates. Mint can hook up to all your online accounts, from your checking, savings, credit card and brokerage accounts to your car and property loans, education loans and more, bringing in your numbers automatically and even categorizing your purchases and fees without any work on your end. The site also lets you connect on the go, with an iPhone app and text message alerts that can give you updates when bills are due, when you're running low on funds or when you've gone over budget.

With no fees, helpful graphs, and multiple ways to delve into your spending data, Mint can help you take control of your finances and get on track to finding your financial trouble areas and creating a better financial future. It can even help you maximize your credit card rewards -- whether you want air miles, cash back or points -- and you can compare your spending and savings to national averages to get a bigger picture view of how you're doing.

Learn more at Mint.com and let us know what your experience is. If there are any other great personal finance tools you're using, we'd love to hear about those in the comments as well.

Enter SmartyPig, a new online banking site that lets you save for specific goals. You just set your goal amount, when it's due, and SmartyPig helps you figure out how much and how frequently to contribute. It also gives you monthly encouraging status updates and other graphs on the site. And if you want others to help you reach your goal or track your progress, you can make your account public and share it on your social networks.

Partnered with West Bank, your money is FDIC insured, and you earn 2.75% interest -- much better than most savings accounts. And SmartyPig doesn't have any fees for opening an account or withdrawing your money, though you do need to set up a monthly direct deposit from your bank.

What are you saving for?

We women can have a complicated relationship with money, from not knowing our real worth in dollars and cents to being afraid to deal honestly with our business finances. It's great to get these short, informative tips to help stay on track and learn some new things as well.

One recent email that struck me was a tip from Claire Poole about small business taxes and had an informative link to The Motley Fool. Part of it said:

Accountants keep running lists of ways to audit-proof tax returns, and you should to. For starters, avoid using any round numbers on your return. For example, if you report that you earned $45,000, instead of $47,890.26, it sends a red flag to the government that you're not keeping good records. If you manage your own tax return (or simply want to know more about tax returns), we recommend Audit-Proof Your Tax Return.

Another I thought was particularly poignant was a piece on apologizing written by Cristina Adams and inspired by Social Media Strategist Jessica Smith. Part of it said:

We're sorry when we win, when we lose, when we promote ourselves and our business, when we get ahead or fall behind, when we outdo our friends or colleagues, when we miss the tennis ball and lose the match. What is up with that? It's okay to be good at what you do, to beat the competition, win praise (and a raise) or promote your abilities.

Where do you turn for daily inspiration? Share your favorite sites, newsletters and more in the comments.

Image courtesy of DailyWorth.com

First, it's having enough money to ensure their kids are educated. Next, it's how to get out of credit card debt. And finally, it's how to save for their own retirement.

These are the issues that Candace Bahr of The Women's Institute for Financial Education (WIFE) says are by far the most common among women - and also much of the reason why she founded this non-profit group nearly 18 years ago with partner, Ginita Wall.

WIFE's mission is to empower and counsel women in pursuit of financial security and independence. Why women? Because women have different fears and concerns about money than men do, explains Bahr. Our concerns typically revolve first and foremost around our children. Many of us, caring for family and home, do not bring in our own incomes. And we also face the very real prospect of outliving our spouses - or supporting ourselves in the long-term.

WIFE.org offers countless tips, articles and resources to help women take control and achieve financial independence. Chiefly among them is the organization's Money Clubs, which teach women how they can get together with girlfriends in order to get more money wise.

"I was invited to so many home parties with my girlfriends to buy things," Bahr explained. "The Money Club idea stemmed from that - why not use the power of girlfriends to do something constructive, rather than accumulate more?"

In addition to downloadable guidelines on how to start your own Money Club, WIFE.org also offers free 21- day financial makeovers to help you get out of debt or put aside money for savings. You'll get an email every day, for 21 days, with specific tips on how to reach your goal (It's free.)

And if you sign up for the organization's free monthly newsletter, you'll also receive a free "A Man is Not a Financial Plan" bumper sticker.

Her grandmother emigrated to America, alone with her five-year old-daughter, after escaping Nazi concentration camps. And her mother, widowed at age 19, became her family's sole caregiver -- starting a small business to support them.

She realized her own capabilities after taking over her family's successful but high-pressure entertainment agency when her stepfather became sick, new baby by her side. She also learned the challenges of balancing a business and a family, and witnessed a lack of support for moms who owned businesses... and even fewer networking opportunities.

This led her to start the Moms In Business Network in 2001 -- an association dedicated to supporting and actively promoting working mothers. Its mission is to help all women create balance between work, family, and their personal lives.

"Women, especially moms, don't know their own power," said Robison-Billups. "They seem to feel the need to apologize for having children and working. If they knew how powerful they are -- moms have the same purchasing power as the country of Great Britain! -- I don’t think they’d be so apologetic for their choices."

The organization's top initiative is to provide effective marketing tools to help mom business owners build successful companies. MIBN offers a number of programs to do that -- personal networking, national marketing teleclasses and seminars, and MCAP (Minority Certification Assistance Program). MIBN is the only association in the country that offers women and minority business owners assistance in obtaining all the certifications needed for minority and disadvantaged business contracting -- one of the keys to getting a foot in the door for federal contracts and large private corporations like Home Depot or Wal-Mart.

In addition, the organization awards business grants to moms with its “Create your Dreams” Business Grant and Awards program.

"Unlike any other business I've had," said Robison-Billups, "I have a passion for what I do that goes way beyond me. I love what I do, and I put that passion into it, but I know that friends, family, kids, husband and my health are all more important than achieving world domination, fame and outrageous money."

That's the work/life balance that Gina Robison-Billups hopes to help mom business owners find for themselves.

The association started in 1975 as an informal meeting of women business owners in Washington, D.C. who met to trade information about federal contracts, bank credit, and other business issues. Every few weeks, more women began attending the group - and it soon became clear there was a great need for a formal organization devoted to helping women business owners. NAWBO was created.

Today there are chapters in almost every metropolitan area in the United States. The power of numbers helps enable NAWBO to achieve its goals, including:

• Strengthening the wealth-creating capacity of its members and promoting economic development
• Creating innovative and effective changes in the business culture
• Building strategic alliances, coalitions, and affiliations
• Transforming public policy and influencing opinion makers

Members -- ranging from sole proprietorships to corporations with hundreds of employees, in every industry -- benefit from opportunities, products and services that help their businesses achieve greater visibility, credibility and profitability. Specifically, NAWBO offers training, special events, and an opportunity to network and build relationships with other women business owners, locally and nationally. NAWBO also recognizes women’s achievements through its national awards programs.

"Women entrepreneurs are growing businesses at twice the rate of all businesses," says Carol Kuc, NAWBO's 2006-2007 President and CEO/President of Complete Conference Coordinators, Inc. in Naperville, Illinois. "NAWBO is proud to be a part of this exciting trend."

Allison O'Kelly, founder and CEO of Mom Corps, is doing something about it.

O'Kelly's is an ingenious idea that's also very simple. Mom Corps places professionals -- moms who've left the full-time work force -- in flexible, part-time, project, or contract positions that are challenging, meaningful and financially fulfilling. Her company gives moms the ability to stay in the work force on their own terms - and provides companies access to highly qualified professionals in accounting, marketing, finance, law, human resources, and more - who can add value to their businesses.

O'Kelly came up with the concept based on her own life experience. After having her own children, she found it impossible to balance her career as a CPA with being a mom. She met countless other women in the same predicament - moms who wanted to stay in the workforce but didn't know how to find opportunities that could allow them to have flexibility and "symmetry" in their lives. At the same time, she noticed that corporations were struggling to find high caliber employees.

Today, Mom Corps matches talented professionals with companies who need them. Mom Corps' workforce is a high-level, talented pool of professionals -- 44% have 10 years or more experience in their given field, and 34% have a professional degree. And with large companies like Lending Tree, The Weather Channel, Realestate.com, and KPMG coming to Mom Corps for staffing, it's an ideal match-up.

"Mom Corps helps professionals who are mothers find flexible opportunities where they can earn money, utilize their hard-earned skills, and do something interesting," said CEO Allison O'Kelly. "In turn, we provide companies access to an exclusive, untapped pool of talent."

If you'd like information on how to be part of Mom Corps' workforce -- or if your company has staffing needs Mom Corps could help solve, visit www.momcorps.com. There are job listings right on the site, in regions throughout the country including New York, Charlotte, Chicago, Boston and more.