The Lead Gypsy
Where Does The Name, Blue Gypsy, Come From?
My name is Leah Kaiz, and I am the Lead Gypsy (CEO) of Blue Gypsy, Inc. I spent over a decade
Whitsundays, Australia 1993 -Photo by Leah Kaiz
wandering the world before settling into real estate and focusing on lead management for a large local builder in Virginia Beach. Many people who known me are familiar with my gypsy wandering soul.
After graduating with a degree in communication from Boston University, I chose the unconventional path of a wanderer as I meandered around the world. I gained insight into different cultures, places and people, first with a backpack on my back, and later as a dive instructor and a sailboat captain, deckhand, mate or cook.
During my Gypsy years I had many crazy adventures and unique jobs. I spent time in a traditional Mayan village studying Spanish. I lived in a small town in Central Turkey selling day trips to tourists. While in Japan I could be found meditating in a Buddhist Dojo practicing Zazen meditation by day, and working in a hostess club singing off-tune Beatles songs at night. I washed dishes at a campground near the Lebanon boarder and heard rockets on a regular basis.
I bartended in a piano bar in Antigua and did photography for a non-profit shoot in Honduran coffee fields. I wrote features for an English newspaper in Guatemala City and then moved to a tiny island in Honduras. There I went from scared to death of diving to teaching scared people how to dive.
I hitched a ride on a sailboat from Honduras with a crazy captain, to Mexico and back into the United States. I nearly bought my own sailboat which, at the time I knew nothing about. Instead I got my instructor’s certification and ended up work as a galley assistant on a luxury live-aboard dive boat in the Caymans. Years later I taught scuba diving in Sodwana Bay in South Africa, and on the exotic island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania.
I didn’t just work but played while I traveled. I jumped out of airplanes and off bridges attached to bungy cords in New Zealand. I went rappelling in Australia, sailed around the Whitsundays and helped a terrified tourist down off of Ayers Rock. I visited ruins in Greece, and spent time living in the Old City in Jerusalem. I rode buses across Turkey, took trains across India, spent time where the Dali Lama lives, and headed up into the beautiful mountains of Nepal. But one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been is to the beautiful country of Lesotho, a small land locked jewel with soaring landscapes dotted with small villages and kind people.
Up in the Riggining (Self Portrait) Ocean Star 2005. - Photo by Leah Kaiz
After many years of backpacking, travel and spending some time on boats, I went through a rigorous 3 month licensing program and began teaching teenagers scuba diving and sailing in the BVI’s every summer for 4 years. I then had the honor of teaching interpersonal communications with the same program on a schooner from Tortola to Granada and back again with college students. I also collaborated with the director on a 17 part motivational teen program, currently used in over 6 countries worldwide. In between the spaces I worked on traditional wooden schooners teaching educational programs.
Adventures saw my gypsy wandering soul over blue oceans as well as below them and through some of the most amazing sights and cultures in the world.
What is the Secret to Success For Blue Gypsy?
I attribute my success to a number of personality traits and work ethics that I bring to any business venture. Many of those traits come from years of working on sail boats. I’m used to working 24 hours a day 7 days a week. (Even when you are off watch on a boat, you are still working.) I’ve been known to answer emails as late as 1 am and people are so thrilled to receive an immediate response. Statistics say that if contact is not made with a sales inquiry within 5 minutes of reception you are 100 times less likely to turn over the lead.
But the real key is consistent persistent follow-up. Both before the appointment, and after. Not every lead turns into a sale immediately. And that’s the key as an Online Sales Consultant: holding on to that lead even after they’ve visited the site and seeing the process through as a team member with the site agents.
I have many strengths to bring to the table with Blue Gypsy, Inc. for both builder partners and related industries. I’m excited with the success Blue Gypsy, Inc. has enjoyed, and look forward to continuing to find clients who need an enthusiastic team member to help achieve their goals.
