• How long has your webcomic been running, and what is it's readership?
I've been doing Shattered Myth for about Nine months now, M-W-F plus a small launch buffer has put me at around 150 strips. It's only been late twice (by hours) and I've never missed an update. A fact I'm fairly proud of actually. As far as readership goes, I average somewhere between 60 and 80 unique views a day. I don't seem to get a lot of hits but my average pageviews is usually close to 5 pages a visit which gives me hope for the future!
• How are you doing in terms of webcomic business?
Shattered Myth hasn't really gotten to the point yet where I'm pushing the business end of it. I've got a small store setup with prints and originals and a single basic shirt design but I don't have the readership to kick it into gear yet and I'm realistic about that. If I can get the quality of the writing and art up, the rest will come naturally to me.
I make no allusion to "Art for Arts Sake". To me, it's entertainment and and entertainment business at that. I have a degree in Commercial Art with a minor in Business Management. Shortly after graduation I realized Graphic Design now also meant Web Design so I got some schooling in web development as well (Admittedly, it's a little rusty now). My first job out of college was in Licensing of Intellectual Properties (ok, mostly NFL and MLB stuff) where I learned a lot about Building a Brand, dealing with manufacturers & Buyers, and WAY too much about the legal mumbo jumbo involved in licensing IPs. To me, your webcomic is a Brand, not just a free comic. You have to build it into that over time, starting with the product, then the audience. Robert Khoo isn't a genius, he's a salesman who saw potential in an untapped brand (ok, so he's a REALLY, REALLY good salesman).
My current day job is at a Graphics shop specializing in T-shirts/Garments and Signs. I'm hoping to put all that stuff from each job to good use one day for Shattered Myth. I can make my own banners, flyers, bus cards, t-shirts, stickers, etc. as I need them or in bulk for discounts from the boss (unless he's miffed at me at the time-I'll have to learn to suck up just before conventions). I'm counting on this job to make my initial jump to "Business" a little more affordable.
And I'd say I'm about 2-3% squirrel, but mostly in my fluffy butt.