As an executive assistant turned virtual assistant, I have watched this industry change steadily through the years. I started out as most young aspiring assistants do - in an office with my director close at hand in the next room. But when I look back, I ask myself, how much time did I actually spend face to face with my boss? In all honesty, not a lot. With business trips, lunch meetings and appointments, I very rarely saw him at all.

So from my own personal experience, I can tell you, I could have literally been on the other side of the planet, and still have managed his office as efficiently as I did when I was sitting in it. This is the new way of conducting business - this is where virtual solutions are now taking the lead. Just like fashion changes every season, so does the web, and the creative people that work there are developing new and inventive ways of working with either a single person or a team of freelancers online, as if they were placed directly in your own office.

Office premises, employees, equipment and vending machines are becoming a hassle in the fast pace of today's society. Do you really want to fix broken printers? Get your tech support to come in to increase the ram on your computers because they are running slowly? Or buy new desks for your employees because they are looking worn out? I wouldn't, that's for sure. It's costly - it's certainly not productive, and I would rather be spending time getting work done that dealing with these small but cumbersome problems.

With a virtual business, you only have to concern yourself with one thing - and that's delegating. Who do you want to do the work, and when do you want it back? It is as easy as that, and if you are striving to unlock the doors to your virtual business, outsourcing is absolutely essential. Freelancers, Virtual Assistants and other self employed individuals are all responsible for their own time management, their own equipment, and their own software. Often, by hiring a virtual worker you are also able to utilise the many and varied resources they have available to them, that they have personally invested in, to offer you a better service. For example, you want a new company brochure, now unless you are a graphic designer, you most likely will not have access to the full Adobe Master Collection valued at a few thousand dollars - let alone know how to work with it, to create and publish your company brochure, but it's a good bet your virtual worker will be able to meet all of your requirements - so the tables turn, and it is no longer about what perks you can offer your assistant, but what perks your assistant can offer you!

So, what do you need to make all of this happen, and what are the essential tools you must have to turn your business completely virtual?

1. A Personal Computer

2. An Internet Connection

3. A savvy, up to the minute, Virtual Assistant

My guess is, if you're reading this, you can cross off the first 2 items on the list, now all you need is to find number 3, and you know what they say, there's no time like the present!