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 Kit-cooking shops provide help for "new scratch" cooking 
German childcare center Kinderinsel provides overnight care for kids
Power brokers network and get pampered at ultraluxe fitness clubs
Greed isn't good anymore (if it ever was). Instead, today's more compassionate businesses spike operations with do-good deeds designed to solve social problems found on their doorsteps, across the nation and around the world. This band of social entrepreneurs successfully merges altruism with business principles and, in the process, targets the caring consumer's desire to buy with a cause in mind. Whether devised by consumers, entrepreneurs, companies or nonprofits, social enterprises gladly shoulder the burden of developing creative social remedies rather than relying on sporadic charitable giving and government solutions. Concerned shoppers, in turn, bag goods colored with good intentions that satisfy both their buying and their better-world desires. Across the board, social enterprises also bestow on businesses an unmistakably compassionate halo. Social entrepreneurs build causes into business plans, creating a dual bottom line that brings both a financial and a social ROI. And they run the gamut-from Urban Cookies' gourmet operation, which hires at-risk girls, to the baby wares hawked by Count My Blessings, which funnels funds to hospitals. The United Nations helps Ethiopian artisans gain fair pay through its Taytu luxe accessories, while Hope for Women does the same, but for female artisans in India who craft cards from handmade paper and dried flowers.
Social entrepreneurs raise the business bar by imbuing their products and services with hope for a better world and an appeal to compassionate and legacy-minded consumers. Businesses that give to charities still resonate with consumers. But consumers know companies sometimes say one thing and do another. By founding their businesses on the premise of helping the world's needy, social entrepreneurs trademark the entire operation with trust, honesty and integrity.
Using community to foster an exchange of information and to share recommendations, advice and feedback is nothing new. It's just that web-based tools are making the exchange from every corner of the globe easier than ever. While TripAdvisor and even corporate blogs like Starwood's TheLobby.com seem to be getting all the ink, venerable community-based aggregators like Zagat whose restaurant guides continue to assemble local wisdom and parce it out in a digestable fashion so that everyone can benefit. ISM recently developed an innovative partnership with Zagat that brought the model to the island of Barbados and will culminate in the first-ever Zagat's guide to a Caribbean country. Tapping into local residents and frequent visitors, Zagat's has assembled the ensuing inputs and comments on the best dining, attractions and nightlife and will introduce a Best of Barbados guide this fall. By establishing itself as the first Caribbean country worthy of its own Zagat's guide, Barbados is able to solidify its position in the marketplace and the feedback will have the added benefit of benchmarking the service delivery and product quality of local establishments. A perfect example of the community benefiting the community.
Consumers are hankering to do some home cooking, but they're more than happy to outsource the prep in order to save time. First, meal prep centers like Dream Dinners let customers assemble dishes to heat later at home. Now we've seen the convenience morph into what we're calling kit shops. Really Cool Foods in New York sells kits for dishes like macaroni and cheese, including precooked pasta, cream sauce, shredded cheese and breadcrumbs. Boulettes Larder in San Francisco's Ferry Building-offering ingredients like compound butters, pie crusts and stocks-enables skilled foodies to put together their own kits of sorts. Meal assembly centers are so popular that there's now a website listing all the choices in the U.S. and Canada (currently 284 companies and 775 locations). Consumers are trying to do more cooking to express love and eat more wholesomely. But they don't have the time or the know-how to do much from scratch. Kit shops let customers have a hand in creating dinner in the comfort of their own kitchens-and the ingredients must be just as premium and pure as if they shopped for each one individually.
Daycare meets sleepaway camp at Berlin's Kinderinsel. Parents who need childcare for a couple of hours or a couple of weeks can check their kids into "Children's Island." Like a Gymboree with overnight services, Kinderinsel offers classes and activities, supervised free play, party hosting and overnight care. At night, the facility's playrooms are transformed into bedrooms. Kids sleep on mobile beds and get to choose their spots to bed down. Services are available on short notice and to out-of-town visitors. Childcare coverage for two-career households can be a logistical nightmare. Overnight care options can help parents bridge the gaps. Institutional overnight care may sound like a no-brainer, but parental guilt and anxiety is complex and sticky for Americans. Trust will be the key value if parents here are going to be comfortable leaving their kids with caregivers other than family.
Wine bars. Private dining rooms. Full indoor basketball courts. A new generation of ultraluxe fitness clubs is moving beyond spa amenities into five-star facilities where power brokers network and social-climb. Microsoft execs convene at the exclusive PRO Sports Club in Bellevue, Washington where they can strategize in cushy boardrooms, entertain clients in the gourmet restaurant or reward themselves for a job well done in lushly appointed "relaxation rooms." The Gainey Village Health Club and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona offers execs seeking a power retreat their own VIP treatment room, complete with cascading 10-ft. waterfalls. Deals still get done on the golf course, but younger power brokers are looking for fresh ways to combine business with pleasure. Upscale fitness clubs fit the bill. Consumers driven by a need for exclusivity in the pursuit of looking good will pay extra to separate themselves from the sweaty hordes. | | 
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