[Joely]

Are you a blogger because you want to help people, or because you want to make money?

I don't make money from my blog. I blog because I love writing and that's one way to write what I like to write about and share it with people. I'm also opinionated and talkative. Blogging is good for that.

Are you starting a business to provide others with quality products, or to provide yourself with quality money?

I have just left doing a conventional job to be a full-time writer. For four years, I worked and wrote at the same time, receiving no remuneration for what I was doing. I wrote because I loved doing it, because the words flowed through me, because I adore this world I've got stuck in my big head. I share my writing, and my world, because it makes other people happy. They love the world too, and they delight in the characters and what they do. It's a playground for them. Essentially, for me, this is all about being able to share something beautiful with the world.

If you currently own a business, who's entitled to the profits? Is it just you and/or the shareholders? Or is it evenly shared between you and the employees?

Not particularly applicable. I do own a business but I'm the only shareholder, the only employee and the director.

What makes you happier? Having an extra million dollars? or knowing that you've contributed towards the good of humanity and global abundance?

I could have a million dollars and be miserable if I wasn't writing. I define my goals not by how much money I make but by what I'm doing and whether I like what I'm doing. Obviously, it would really help if I made some money doing that, because I do need to eat and have a roof over my head.

Some additional thoughts:

I've known, all my life, that this was what I wanted. I can't remember a time of being confused about it, uncertain or doubtful. Even though I've taken a winding path to get here, every step of the way has been essential and contributed to where I am right now. I've never really given consideration to having heaps of money, and the only real reason I would like my work to make lots of money is because that will provide me with the resources to set up the foundation I've been planning.

I've been dirt poor writing, and rich writing, had a stable income and been dependent on others. I realised long ago that being able to shop freely or never having to worry about whether I'd be able to keep a roof over my head is more about comfort, but it's got little to do with happiness. I don't know whether I'm divinely inspired to write or not, whether it's selfish that I want to be able to rely on that for a living and share it with the world, but that's what I'm aiming for.