Gerard's post on the AdSense dip reminded me of a topic I like to raise from time to time.

Are you guilty of positive self-deception when it comes to revenue projections? I know that I am. It's easy to look at your best month and project that month over the entire year.

To avoid self-deception, and get a more accurate revenue projection, ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I taken into account the significant, proven, annual dips that occur (summer, Christmas through New Year's, spring break, July 4th, Memorial Day Weekend, Labor Day Weekend)?

2. Am I being serious with myself about expenses? Or am I ignoring some expenses that help me achieve these revenue levels?

3. Is the source of these revenues stable and repeatable? Or are you the beneficiary of some short term lady luck?

...and I'll leave it to the comments section to add to this list. So what do YOU do to keep yourself honest about revenue projections?