| The onset and growth of home based business has | | | | Another industry that actually exists as a result of |
| affected much more than those entrepreneurs who | | | | home based business persons is the executive suite |
| are enjoying their work at home environment. | | | | model. These firms offer offices, meeting rooms, |
| Industries have grown up around home based | | | | videoconferencing and other services for those who |
| business products and services and long time | | | | are traveling on business and need a place to work |
| industries have changed their formats to embrace | | | | or meet clients, and those who have a home based |
| these ever-increasing home based entrepreneurs. | | | | business and need a more formal business look for |
| Southwest Airlines, for example, an innovative leader | | | | client or prospect meetings, telephone reception and |
| in the airline industry, whose low-cost fares made | | | | secretarial services and so forth. A home based |
| flight travel possible for another 70 percent of the | | | | business owner, can, for example, rent an office or |
| U.S. population, has changed its product strategies | | | | meeting room, with or without phone, Web |
| and realigned its staffing in response to the | | | | connection, fax, copier, video conference capability, |
| prevalence of home based business travelers, so | | | | catering and so forth, by the hour, the day, the |
| many of whom now schedule, and print out boarding | | | | week or the month. These services are typically sold |
| passes online. 70 percent of Southwest travelers, | | | | a la carte, and can include a receptionist, a telephone |
| business and pleasure, schedule online. 60 percent of | | | | answering service, postal service and free parking. |
| them print out their boarding passes there. Home | | | | One of the most prominent of these firms has a |
| based business owners have spurred innovations in | | | | global presence, with 750 executive suite locations in |
| the airline industry as a whole, as more and more | | | | 350 cities of 60 countries. In addition to major |
| airports offer wireless fidelity (WiFi) services for | | | | countries such as the United States, Canada and the |
| these road warriors, at no charge more often than | | | | UK, a business traveler can work from one of three |
| not. Airport construction designs now include | | | | executive suites in Chile, five locations in Hong Kong, |
| numerous electric outlets and business rooms and | | | | one in Luxembourg, 28 locations in France, 21 |
| services for those who have to take their business | | | | properties in Mexico, three in Norway, five in Poland, |
| on the road. | | | | 24 in Germany, and one in Greece, to name a few. |