Imagine eating breakfast slowly with your spouse, having a warm shower before donning on casual clothes and sitting down to your computer to begin work. No traffic jams, no parking hassles, no running to catch buses or trains.

It's just a typical day for a virtual assistant, someone who works from the comfort of their own home. And you can get started in your own home-based virtual office very cheaply with little overheads - mainly because you are paying for them already.

Companies are becoming more adept at outsourcing costs and can see real benefits for virtual assistants. A virtual office works by companies utilising their telecommunications package to revert calls on to the virtual assistant. The VA doesn't need to be physically located where the company is so long as their able to receive phone calls, faxes and emails.

The Virtual Assistant can then deal with all incoming communications and manage them as if they were physically present in the company.

The benefits for small businesses are enormous. A small business, with the right telecommunications package can operate just as professionally and be just as available as a larger business with the use of virtual assistants. They don't need to employ them full-time or permanently and so they have the freedom to pursue their business with less overheads.

The benefits for the virtual assistant are enormous as well. You can contract to more than company, work from anywhere in the world and never have to catch public transport to work again.