New editor hits Tampa beat

After a hiatus that included doing marketing for her son's business, Janet Leiser has rejoined the staff of the Business Observer as its Tampa Bay editor. Leiser will cover Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. She previously worked at the paper's predecessors, The Tampa Bay Review and the Gulf Coast Business Review, from 2001 to 2007.

Leiser has more than 30 years of experience as a reporter, and started her career at The Tampa Tribune. But one of her most eye-opening experiences came working for her son, Christopher Leiser, in his Tampa contracting business, Dynamix Mechanical.

While working at the firm the past two years, Leiser says she got a new understanding of business challenges, particularly those that come with running a fast-growth company. Dynamix Mechanical went from $5 million in sales in 2011 to $13.3 million in 2012.

“I saw up close how much determination, hard work and perseverance it takes to be an entrepreneur and to start and grow a company without outside capital and government assistance,” Leiser says. “For the past five-plus years, I've watched my son work harder than I knew was humanly possible to establish his mechanical contracting firm. When I hear small business is the backbone of our country, I now know more than ever how true that is and how much sacrifice is involved.”

The Business Observer is pleased to welcome Leiser back. Contact her by email at [email protected], or by phone at 727-254-0976.