You may have read the book The 4-Hour Workweek, but the reality is that it never happens for you.

There's always something to keep you tied to the office, enduring the commuter run and the daily grind.

Yet there are many products and services designed to break those ties and restrictions.

Business on the Fly

These conveniences are available to the entrepreneur, the small businessperson, the corporate executive and the upcoming young professional alike. There are no bars on the use of these goodies except those you apply yourself.

The Wireless Broadband Connection

Most companies have latched onto this at one level or another. In its simplest form it's a means of attaching a laptop computer to the Internet from any convenient wireless broadcast site. Field staff working from home can enjoy Internet and company VPN via the Internet anywhere within their homes with the use of wireless connectivity between laptop and Internet router. This is great so far as it goes, but beyond the confines of office and home the connectivity is limited to wireless hot spots such as airport lounges, coffee-shops or hotels and many such sites charge a steep rate for access.

The 3G Data Card

This cuts in where wireless fails, providing Internet and VPN anywhere there is a cellphone signal. The device simply plugs into the laptop like a wireless card, but it uses cellphone connectivity rather than local wireless. The Internet link can be GPRS at 32-48 kbps or 3G at 384 kbps. The connection speeds may look slow, but in practice even GPRS at 32-48 kbps is workable. As it is a digital link from point to point, there are fewer lost packets and performance is acceptable, even when downloading files of up to 3 MB in size.

The cost may also appear daunting at first glance, but most providers package wireless hotspot connectivity along with the cell network service. Download capacity of over 4GB per month, free Internet services from the chosen network, plus travel savings and you start to see the advantages. In the UK this method of connectivity even works well on many mainline rail services.

The Smart Phone

There are many criticisms of smart phone usage, but the advantages offered by smart phones are so attractive that they overcome the objections.

A good smart phone offers a wide range of functions in addition to phone calls. Internet browsing, email, word processing, spreadsheet analysis and document reading. The latter includes the facility to annotate and bookmark.

Usual inclusions are MP3 player, camera and the facility to move data by email, synchronization or cut and paste using an SD card. All of this is delivered in one easy-to-carry format. A tool which could be described as the single biggest advance in business communication since the formation of the Internet, bringing to serious users the facility to work from desk, parked car, armchair, airplane, train, wherever you happen to be. No more lost time, no more waiting for a computer to start up. Work from anywhere, anytime.

The Follow Me Phone Number

A single remotely divertible phone number, forwarded to wherever you want. One of the first rules of business is to be available. A follow me phone number means that you only ever give out one number and you divert that number to wherever you are -- a mobile, another office, an answer-phone or an answering service. The object is to appear available even when you don't wish to be.

Setting up a follow me service takes a little planning. Points to remember are:

1. Convey a consistent image.Think your service through and remember that all calls will be routed to you, so answering needs to be done in a professional manner.
2. Select your notification carefully - do you want to know who is calling before answering?
3. Always ensure that calls not taken are routed either to an answering service or to an answer-phone. Ensure that you use an answer-phone service in preference to a device. Professional services are configurable and are not subject to local failure, power outages and the like. Always respond to messages.

The Answer Service

These are available to give the impression that you sit behind a switchboard. A real person speaks to callers and either forwards your call, takes a message or forwards callers to your answer-phone service where a personal message may be left.

The Mail Forwarder

This is for snail mail rather than email. Even today some items need to be physically delivered and a mail forward service enables you to give a single business address. All mail delivered to this address is then diverted to wherever you happen to be.

The Outsourced Secretary

If you need a secretary or administrative assistant you no longer need to provide an office. The Internet secretary needs access to your appointments calendar, email address, phone number and contacts list.