The title says it all. This is a blog devoted solely to hostessing! The name of the site is perfect but that’s not the only thing showing promise. Hostess with the Mostess has a personal blog, and different tabs outlining every area of hostessing necessary. This includes Entertaining 101, Recipe Box, Party Themes, and Fabulous Finds.

The site showcases everything through pictures as well. This is necessary and quite appealing to the eye! This site is worth checking out!

Google is basically taking over the world…and i’m totally okay with it!

Picasa is Google’s FREE “photoshop” program that lets you store your photos and change then in any way you can imagine. It automatically updates your photos to Picasa after you upload new photos on to your computer as soon as you open Picasa. The photos saved on oher folders will copy into Picasa with ease.

 It’s a quick and easy download to your computer.  Picasa 3.6 not available at http://picasa.google.com/.

I’ve recently been working on an entrepreneurship project where I am focusing on TOMS Shoes, Inc. and its founder Blake Mycoskie. This brand and website is the epitome of  profitable social entrepreneurship. TOMS was named after the phrase and goal of “better tomorrows”.

TOMSmakes and sells unique shoes all make in an alpargata (Argentinean) style. It was founded in 2006 by Mycoskie and has taken off like wildfire ever since. It focuses on a One for One Movement that commits TOMS to giving a pair of shoes to children in need in developing countries for every pair of shoes they sell. It’s truly a one for one movement!

 - The Classic TOMS

TOMS has made a commitment to consistency to children. They do not think that their impact is finished once they give a child one pair of shoes because after 6 months they will be worn out or grown out of. Those kids are going to need another pair. TOMS and their partnering organizations realize this and act on it. Their goal is to prevent infections, soil-transmitted diseases, and rejection of education to those kids who do not have shoes.

Lastly, the coolest part of TOMS is that Blake Mycoskie and his employees are on a mission to show that entrepreneurs no longer have to choose between earning money and making a difference in the world. Profitability is achievable with a giving-based business. TOMS proves that conscious capitalism is a viable business model for innovators worldwide, and entrepreneurs can focus on being ambassadors of humanity.

Grameen Bank is a microfinance bank that was started in 1983 in Bangladesh. Its made the dreams of many impoverished people come true by giving them the freedom to invest the way they want. It works on the principle of using social pressure/ peer-pressure to advocate repayment and smart investing strategies.

Muhammad Yunus started this bank on the basic principle of helping the less fortunate people of Bangladesh. What started out as a very simple and small business has grown into a rather large company. In 2006, the company netted about $20.3 Million. Although this is a sizable amount of profit, the goal of the company has not changed. Helping people can certainly be accomplished while making money. That way, both parties end out ahead.

In 2006, the company and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” (according to nobelprize.org)

Creative Commons has provided a really cool place for people to share their ideas and take ideas from others while staying within copyright limits. How they do this is still puzzling to me but non the less they have implemented a good marketing strategy to spread the news of Creative Commons.

For those of you trying to spread the word of your own Internet site you could learn a thing or two from Creative Commons. They are spreading their ideas through Twitter, Flickr, an iPhone app, YouTube, and more. Basically they are laying their business on the line in all the possible popular marketplaces right now. Take note.

Just take a look at their press release page and find out the ways they have implemented their ideas.