Friday 24 February 2012
ending this blog
as nice as it has been to post about the business side of things, my new website design has a blog page included in it all. Since it is part of my main customer store front, it will be more from that side of things than this has been, but I will leave these posts online for now in case anyone finds them for reference. Please feel free to keep up with me on my website at www.perrynoia.ca, www.facebook.com/PerryNoiatheClown, or on twitter @PerryNoiaClown
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Payments
Before I start this blog post, I want to preface it with the fact that I was not asked to promote anything and do not expect any kind of thanks for mentioning anything either.
When you have a home business, you start out on pretty much a "cash only" basis. Not much choice really, right? I started with just cash or cheque for my options. Then I added paypal for deposits. That was ok for a while, but they recently changed some stuff with the way "requests for funds" works and now the email that I send doesn't have the big, friendly yellow button that says "Pay Now" and instead just gives them a link to sign in to their account or create one. So I had to put a button on my website instead which is, sadly too complicated for some customers to figure out compared to an email directed at them with a big, shiny button on it.
I was drooling!! Soooooo incredibly jealous of my USA neighbours who had access to the Square reader. Canadian versions of such a thing required buying an expensive reader and paying $30+/month!! No fair!!
Finally!!!! There is something like it in Canada!!! There are promises of one on the intuit website, but no dates announced (you can wait for them if you want, no monthly fee, but different rates for swiped or keyed transactions)... too late, I got one from PAYD. It is affordable for a home business (very low monthly fee, free reader and the same transaction rates as pretty much all the others) and it WORKS!! I promise you, this recommendation was not solicited and I don't expect any thanks for the recommendation either... but I hope that it might help some of you that read this. The PAYD card reader is run through Moneris and Royal Bank (these should be familiar and trusted names to you if you are in Canada) and the reader works very well.
I can't have my bumper cover on my phone when using the reader, but my bumper is huge, so that's no surprise. I also have to be a LITTLE bit careful when swiping that I don't press too hard on the reader and accidentally press the power button with it, BUT you can turn it sideways off of the button or hold the reader more than the phone while swiping to avoid that too. I have to keep in mind that they made it for android phones as well as iphones, so some of the androids might not have a power button in the same place as my iphone. It is a great reader, it lets you key in transactions from people who aren't with you at the time (same rate as swiped), you can also access it from your home computer or ipad (over wifi) to key in transactions while you are on your phone. The reader plugs into the headphone jack and even comes with a neck strap so you can keep it handy without keeping it plugged into your phone all the time as well as a nice little plastic case to keep it safe and clean.
As a clown, my business is pretty much everywhere BUT home (with the occasional exception of taking a deposit or someone picking up balloon sculptures), so being anywhere with my phone and being able to say, "Yes, I can take credit cards!" Is awesome.
Happy Clowning!! :oD
Perry Noia the Scaredy Clown
When you have a home business, you start out on pretty much a "cash only" basis. Not much choice really, right? I started with just cash or cheque for my options. Then I added paypal for deposits. That was ok for a while, but they recently changed some stuff with the way "requests for funds" works and now the email that I send doesn't have the big, friendly yellow button that says "Pay Now" and instead just gives them a link to sign in to their account or create one. So I had to put a button on my website instead which is, sadly too complicated for some customers to figure out compared to an email directed at them with a big, shiny button on it.
I was drooling!! Soooooo incredibly jealous of my USA neighbours who had access to the Square reader. Canadian versions of such a thing required buying an expensive reader and paying $30+/month!! No fair!!
Finally!!!! There is something like it in Canada!!! There are promises of one on the intuit website, but no dates announced (you can wait for them if you want, no monthly fee, but different rates for swiped or keyed transactions)... too late, I got one from PAYD. It is affordable for a home business (very low monthly fee, free reader and the same transaction rates as pretty much all the others) and it WORKS!! I promise you, this recommendation was not solicited and I don't expect any thanks for the recommendation either... but I hope that it might help some of you that read this. The PAYD card reader is run through Moneris and Royal Bank (these should be familiar and trusted names to you if you are in Canada) and the reader works very well.
I can't have my bumper cover on my phone when using the reader, but my bumper is huge, so that's no surprise. I also have to be a LITTLE bit careful when swiping that I don't press too hard on the reader and accidentally press the power button with it, BUT you can turn it sideways off of the button or hold the reader more than the phone while swiping to avoid that too. I have to keep in mind that they made it for android phones as well as iphones, so some of the androids might not have a power button in the same place as my iphone. It is a great reader, it lets you key in transactions from people who aren't with you at the time (same rate as swiped), you can also access it from your home computer or ipad (over wifi) to key in transactions while you are on your phone. The reader plugs into the headphone jack and even comes with a neck strap so you can keep it handy without keeping it plugged into your phone all the time as well as a nice little plastic case to keep it safe and clean.
As a clown, my business is pretty much everywhere BUT home (with the occasional exception of taking a deposit or someone picking up balloon sculptures), so being anywhere with my phone and being able to say, "Yes, I can take credit cards!" Is awesome.
Happy Clowning!! :oD
Perry Noia the Scaredy Clown
Friday 27 January 2012
A New Costume
I make my own costumes. You can probably see that my costume is pretty unique. As a professional clown, you don't have to make your own. There are a lot of really beautiful and well made costumes from places like Pricilla Mooseburger Originals or other such places. But when you are just starting out, or once you have found something that works for you, making it might be the cheaper way to go.
If you can't sew, you may have to settle for combining eccentric pieces that you find at the thrift store, etc. As long as you can put together a Simplicity pattern, you can probably get a couple of pretty good costumes done yourself.
My first costume was a Raggedy Ann pattern from Simplicity. I made it out of pink and purple broadcloth on the sale table and shortened the sleeves on the under-dress. It worked out fine for a year or so before I got tired of it and the colours started to fade a little. Some knee socks and colourful shoes and that's pretty much the costume.
From there, I wanted to find a way to streamline it a little. I liked the shirt/pinafore feel, but didn't like how many pieces I had to deal with and thought I might be able to combine the bloomers and pinafore into one thing by creating a romper/overall type thing. This is where we went from easy (assembling Simplicity patterns) to kind of hard (creating your own design and pattern and then trying to make it fit on YOU. I started with the basic idea of the pinafore, switched out the ruffled top for just a band, measured just enough to make it all the way around the widest part of my hips (plus some so they aren't even close to tight)... straight up (with a couple pleats into the band at the top), straight down on the legs and ruffle the bottom. That's the simplified version of my thinking. The reality involved a lot more naughty words, wasted fabric because it was cut wrong/didn't fit/looked stupid/etc. In any case, my first set of overalls, wasn't bad, but I've been refining it with each new pair since then.
Then comes my latest creation. Built upon the things I've learned from the last few overalls. I like them and they match my new custom Converse X-Hi Chuck Taylors!
Happy Clowning!!
Perry Noia :oD
If you can't sew, you may have to settle for combining eccentric pieces that you find at the thrift store, etc. As long as you can put together a Simplicity pattern, you can probably get a couple of pretty good costumes done yourself.
My first costume was a Raggedy Ann pattern from Simplicity. I made it out of pink and purple broadcloth on the sale table and shortened the sleeves on the under-dress. It worked out fine for a year or so before I got tired of it and the colours started to fade a little. Some knee socks and colourful shoes and that's pretty much the costume.
From there, I wanted to find a way to streamline it a little. I liked the shirt/pinafore feel, but didn't like how many pieces I had to deal with and thought I might be able to combine the bloomers and pinafore into one thing by creating a romper/overall type thing. This is where we went from easy (assembling Simplicity patterns) to kind of hard (creating your own design and pattern and then trying to make it fit on YOU. I started with the basic idea of the pinafore, switched out the ruffled top for just a band, measured just enough to make it all the way around the widest part of my hips (plus some so they aren't even close to tight)... straight up (with a couple pleats into the band at the top), straight down on the legs and ruffle the bottom. That's the simplified version of my thinking. The reality involved a lot more naughty words, wasted fabric because it was cut wrong/didn't fit/looked stupid/etc. In any case, my first set of overalls, wasn't bad, but I've been refining it with each new pair since then.Then comes my latest creation. Built upon the things I've learned from the last few overalls. I like them and they match my new custom Converse X-Hi Chuck Taylors!
Perry Noia :oD
Monday 2 January 2012
Clown Boot Camp for Kids!
This March Break, I will be teaching a day camp on the basics of clowning for kids aged 9-12 (or 13). In the class, we will cover things such as clown makeup, face painting, basic balloon twisting and we will prepare several clown skits to be performed in front of a video camera (and an audience if there is one). Some areas of clown history, comic movement, making large stage movements, and of course working as a group will also be covered.
I am trained as a Junior/Intermediate teacher in my BEd, so I have plenty of experience with teaching grades 4-8. My training from two sessions at Mooseburger Camp as well as 3 years of clowning locally will be drawn upon to create an engaging and educational curriculum that is sure to excite young performers in the art of clowning!
For $200, each student will receive 5 days of instruction from 9 am to 3 pm (pick up between 3 and 4 pm), a Qualatex red balloon pump, one 100 count bag of Qualatex twisting balloons, use of clown makeup and face paints in class, foam clown nose and graduation certificate.
Reserve a space for your child early as I need to have at least 4 commitments to the class by February 1st to have enough time to order materials. Call (519)562-7371 or email hawkerin@gmail.com today.
Perry Noia the Scaredy Clown :oD
I am trained as a Junior/Intermediate teacher in my BEd, so I have plenty of experience with teaching grades 4-8. My training from two sessions at Mooseburger Camp as well as 3 years of clowning locally will be drawn upon to create an engaging and educational curriculum that is sure to excite young performers in the art of clowning!
For $200, each student will receive 5 days of instruction from 9 am to 3 pm (pick up between 3 and 4 pm), a Qualatex red balloon pump, one 100 count bag of Qualatex twisting balloons, use of clown makeup and face paints in class, foam clown nose and graduation certificate.
Reserve a space for your child early as I need to have at least 4 commitments to the class by February 1st to have enough time to order materials. Call (519)562-7371 or email hawkerin@gmail.com today.
Perry Noia the Scaredy Clown :oD
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