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Results for:

  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • December 21, 2007
Business Cheer

Russ Whited has just three weeks to sell thousands of Christmas trees. He's got it down to a science.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • April 13, 2007
Connection Maker

One dean says the University of South Florida, with its 40,000 students, is a rising star, as is its business school. It's time to shine the light.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • April 20, 2007
Clean Technology

Taking an old-tech company high-tech has meant huge savings and a competitive advantage for Platinum Total Fabricare.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • May 4, 2007
Dealing It Up, Dealing it Down

One real estate attorney's desk is stacked with deals, even though the Gulf Coast housing market has slowed to a crawl. He negotiates multimillion-dollar transactions for developers, lenders, landlords and investors.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • May 4, 2007
Success off the Field

If Lee Roy Selmon's exploits on the field are any indication, the restaurants that bear his name will likely do well, too. He's got strong backing from the founders of Outback Steakhouse.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • May 21, 2007
Fire up the Pit

A father-and-son team plans to grow the Rib City Grill barbecue chain to 100 restaurants in five years. They promise franchisees tasty profits.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • May 25, 2007
Corporate Report

Pegasus Imaging says Intel misappropriated nameInvestment group buys majority of Marco bankRedVector.com Inc. acquires Care2Learn.comHooters drops trans-fat for low-fat, cholesterol-free oilGulfstream Natural Gas gauges needs for expansionAg-Mart threatens Palm Beach Post with suitWellCare Health Plans adds to Medicare oversight programs

  • Industries
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • June 1, 2007
Quiet Success

SARASOTA/MANATEE: STEVE HERRIGMany who know him say Steve Herrig lives to give. It helps that his businesses have been wildly successful, providing lots of opportunities.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • June 1, 2007
'Lean and Mean'

TAMPA BAY: GEOFFREY DYERLike pushing for one more rep in a good workout, Geoffrey Dyer has always pushed his Lifestyle Family Fitness to expand and grow by one more club.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • February 29, 2008
Downtown Saga

One developer's saga in downtown Fort Myers shows the perils of urban redevelopment. It's a warning to other entrepreneurs who have grand plans for urban living.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • June 19, 2006
'A Slow Climb'

Two decades ago, spec home builder Don Hughes was $60,000 in debt. Still, he kept on going, and spending. Now he takes in $1 million in revenue when he sells a $5 million home.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • August 11, 2006
'Like a Pitbull'

Alexandra Miller was cut out of running the family business just as the company was nearing $20 million in annual revenues. She didn't sit on the sidelines for long.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • September 23, 2005
A Resurrection

Michael Uselton quit his national funeral-home position to go back to where he dug graves as a kid. He's finding a lot of life in the local death business.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • December 9, 2005
The Persystent Fixer

Persystent Technology's Ray Weadock believes he has software that will transform the computer world. It fixes your PC every time you boot up. Techies beware.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • December 9, 2005
Laser Sharp

CEO Dean Akers focused Ideal Image Development on one niche - laser hair removal - and the whole customer experience. The results: explosive growth.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • December 30, 2005
30-Year Plan

Ricardo Espino was all set to be his own boss. Then he got an offer he couldn't refuse. In a year and a half, Universal Insurance's premiums have topped $130 million a year.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • March 10, 2006
Dreaming BIG

Developer Joel Cantor plans to build what he says will be downtown St. Petersburg's tallest and best mixed-used tower. He signed up a star architect to design the $160 million, 35-story building. Trump Tower 'is going to be nice,' Cantor says. 'But I think we're going to trump Trump.'

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • March 10, 2006
Coffee Talk

Chicos stock takes a hit: As every novice investor learns, past performance is no indication of future returns.Villares leaves GravityFree: GravityFree, Sarasota's oldest web-design company, is undergoing a leadership change.Ringling would like to thank the Academy: It could grow into a nice trend. For the second straight year, Sarasota's Ringling School of Art and Design grads were nominated for Academy Awards.Venice company in award spotlight, too: Speaking of awards, a Venice-based company took home the top prize for its industry at an awards show in Las Vegas last month.A tale of two 'WCI's: Sarasota upscale home builder and developer Westwater Construction Inc. is dropping the "CI" from its revised logo.Shareholder shakes up Source Interlink: California billionaire Ron Burkle appears frustrated with the go-nowhere stock of Bonita Springs-based Source Interlink.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • April 7, 2006
Coffee Talk

Game on: It looks like Naples-based luxury developer Lutgert Cos. is going to enter the Sarasota real estate market with a big hitter.Times change: At least one Sarasota-area developer has gone past the condo market slump phase and headed straight for the total bust phase.Miva top executives leaving, but not empty-handed: Craig Pisaris-Henderson, 36, resigned from his post as chairman and chief executive officer of Fort Myers-based Internet company Miva April 4.Watching the construction pump: It seems builders have been watching material suppliers as much as most drivers watch the gas pump.Goodbye retirement: After more than 35 years in the Tampa Bay area real estate market, Jim Shapiro was ready to retire, or at least that's what he thought.Loan funds to get tighter?: Pinellas Park bank analyst Richard X. Bove is reading behind the headlines again.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • April 17, 2006
Walsh: Housing schemes will make the shortage worse

It's like the March of the Penguins.Throughout Florida, in county after county, city after city, elected representatives are marching one behind the other into the frozen idea that new laws mandating and coercing developers to build "affordable" houses will relieve the state's housing shortage in any meaningful way.

  • Opinion
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