The alarm clock starts ringing, you slap the off button and throw your feet out onto the floor. With a deep breath, you remember that you don't have to get up and fight rush hour traffic to commute to a job that you really didn't enjoy that much to begin with. The birds begin singing and the sunshines into your room. Ahhh, the sweet relief of working from home.

Time to wake up from that beautiful daydream and take a look at reality. Working from home is great. But, is it really working for you? Are you living the dream? Here are some questions to ask yourself and some advice to follow if you're not sure it's all really working for you.

1. Are you making enough money? Seems like a simple enough question. However, you would be surprised how many people ignore mounting credit card debt because they want to work from home. Now, with that being said, you should look at your expenses and see what you can change because you're working from home. Make dinner at home instead of going out. Do the laundry at home or take your laptop to the laundromat in the middle of the day when no one is there. Clip coupons for the grocery store while you're on the phone or looking through emails. If you've made these concessions and you're still drowning in debt since starting to work from home, then maybe it's time to switch gears. Don't give up on working from home, but maybe take a look at what you're doing from home and see how you can expand or grow. Maybe adding to your services will add to your client base, thus creating more revenue!

2. Are you fulfilled? Money is not everything. Are you happy with your new life as a Work From Homer? If you feel like you're going crazy staring at four walls and talking to your cat, maybe you need to expand. That could mean expanding your advertising budget to help bring in new clients to keep you busier or evolving what you do in order to increase your reach. Only you can answer how fulfilled and happy you are with your job. Remember that you may have started this adventure because you weren't happy with working for someone else. No sense in being unhappy working for yourself. Explore your talents and see how you can incorporate what you love into work.

3. Do you have the right equipment? Are you constantly running back and forth to office supply stores to make copies or fax things? Perhaps it is time to reevaluate your needs. Are you trying to make databases or spreadsheets using a word processing program? There is a bevy of free open source programming available out there so there's no need to spend an arm and a leg on computer programs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to mortgage your home and buy out the office supply store. Take a look at what your needs are and do your best to meet those needs in a financially responsible way.

4. Are you prepared legally? Are you “bending the law” to avoid paying for proper licensing? Or putting off buying the correct equipment and “making due” with what you have? For some businesses, this doesn't matter. All states have laws about having a business in your home. It is of the greatest importance that you take care of proper licensing and registration before you start. The fines that you could have to pay or the chance of losing your business is a much heavier price to pay than avoiding a small fee and some paperwork.

5. Can you plan for the future? This, of course, is heavily anchored in financial needs. Are you making enough money that you can start setting aside money for retirement or investing? Why did you start working from home? Was it so you could spend more time with you kids at home? What are you going to do when they go to school? Are you going to be able to work your schedule around dropping them off and picking them up? You have to look at your own life and figure out what your needs are. Then, make a plan on how you are going to meet those needs.

Now, here is the best advice I can give to anyone starting (or already in) a work from home business.

1. Plan. Plan what your business is going to be. Plan how much money you need to make. Plan when you're going to be able to run errands and cook dinners in your day. You can never plan too much. Write your plans down and make real goals. There is not much in the world that is more satisfying than being able to look at a list or a goal and know how close you are to reaching that goal. Make sure that anyone else involved in your business (including a spouse, close friends and family) know what your goals and plans are. The rewards are much sweeter when you can enjoy them with others.

2. Keep going. Don't give up! Yes, it is work, but think about the rewards of being your own boss and taking charge of your life. Think of the extra time spent with family and friends. Keep in mind all of those reasons that you are doing this when things get tough. If you're doing this on your own, find some other people who are at the same place and confer with them about it. Build your own cheering squad to stand behind you and keep you on track.

3. Be realistic. Working from Home is work. Be realistic in those goals about how long it's going to take you to make money and get your business going. Even if you're dealing with working from home for a larger business, it is going to take time.