That's a risk many aren't willing to take, so they're making sure they have the kind of technology and space to run their businesses from anywhere--especially their cars.

In Pictures: How To Maximize Your Office On Wheels

In particular, a car that can work well for a small-business owner must be affordably priced, fuel-efficient, reliable and loaded with features and technology that can instantly turn it into an office on wheels. That's what Anita Campbell, a Cleveland-area editor of SmallBizTrends.com, needs, because she's on the road two to three days a week.

Campbell drives a 2007 Toyota RAV 4 SUV equipped with hands-free cellphone usage that integrates with the vehicle's audio system to work much like a speakerphone in a traditional office. She can control the volume on the steering wheel. When parked, she participates in conference calls while jotting notes on a pad that is supported on a flat-surface center console that becomes an instant desktop.

Such useful features help keep Campbell productive when she is traveling to appointments. "Otherwise it's just dead time," she says. "I can continue to do my work. It may sound like little things to some people, but for mobile small-business owners, it can make a big difference."

A Matter Of Conversion

Campbell is one of the 27 million small-business owners in the U.S., a group that has been steadily growing since 1997, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And the vast majority (20.7 million) of these enterprises don't have employees. They are counted as the self-employed, independent contractors, freelancers and other nonemployer businesses.

The more innovative among them have gravitated toward vehicles with features originally designed to enhance in-car entertainment--like multiple auxiliary outlets for powering games for kids--and adapted them for in-car office support. Drivers can keep communication devices fully charged to make and take phone calls, check e-mails and, in some cases, even print documents. Storage areas created for kids' toys and snacks become spacious file cabinets.

"Auto companies are marketing these features to consumers, but business owners see them differently," says Campbell.

It also helps that many of these features are now available in more affordable cars. Up until a few years ago, the high-tech amenities were available primarily in expensive luxury cars. But as some of these features--like navigation systems and ergonomic multi-adjustable seats with lumbar support--started showing up on mid-priced cars like the Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, small-business owners with tight budgets suddenly had more options.

"It is the democratization of features," says Jeff Zupancic, vice president of product development at GfK Automotive, a provider of automotive product, brand and consumer research.

"Upper content is showing up in lower-level vehicles, and more people are willing to pay more for a compact car with premium options."

A New Market?

While some amenities were adapted by small-business owners, the auto companies have started to see the benefits of catering more directly to their needs.

Ford's F-Series trucks, for example, are popular among equipment-hauling contractors, who conduct much of their business at the site where the work is done. As part of Ford's "Work Solutions" package, small-business owners can have a stationary broadband computer in the dashboard that allows them to print invoices, check inventories and access documents stored on their home or office computer networks.

Similarly, Chrysler's Mopar parts supplier is offering wireless Internet access for all vehicle occupants through wi-fi-enabled devices like a laptop, cellphone or PDA. But the technology is available only to Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge owners.

Intriguing as these convenient, high-tech features might be to small-business owners, they're just the very beginning, says Bill Fluharty, global vice president of research and discovery at Johnson Controls (nyse: JCI - news - people ), a maker of seats, interiors and electronics for cars. The trend of in-car technology has yet to fully take off, he says.

Imagine placing your electronic devices in a "tunnel console" for wireless charging and use, or being able to dictate and record voice memos through your car's audio system. Technologies such as these are still in the concept and testing stage, says Fluharty, "but that's the direction we are going in."

These are just the sorts of things Campbell says she needs. She longs for the day when her RAV 4 can signal when she is entering an area with wi-fi access so she can park, shoot off some e-mails and then get back on the road.

Until cars can become completely effective as second offices, small-business owners will still have to endure inconveniences, such as keeping an eye out for public libraries and coffee houses, as is necessary for one small-business owner Campbell knows.

"She had to get a document off quickly, but her Internet connection at her home office wasn't working," Campbell recalls. "She ended up at a Caribou Coffee parking lot at 10:30 at night using their wi-fi signal to finish the project."

With any luck, when in-car technologies improve, someday she might be able to stop just for the coffee.

In Pictures: How To Maximize Your Office On Wheels