![](media/image1.png){width="1.979861111111111in"
height="1.0083333333333333in"} ***News Release***

New York District Office

Release Date: September 19, 2006 Contact: John J. Miller (212) 264-7770

Release Number: NYDO 06-39 e-mail: john.miller@sba.gov

***Small Business Helping Long Island Companies to***

***Snag a Piece of the Federal Procurement Pie***

**Smithtown, NY**--- Peter Canning originally started his company to
help some acquaintances secure Department of Defense contracts and
generate a little supplemental income for him and

his wife. His company, ULMAS, has now generated over \$10 million in
Defense Department contracts for area businesses.

Canning had been canned by his employer due to a change in ownership.
That's when he decided he would grow his part-time business and become a
full-time entrepreneur. His experience as a contract manufacturer, and
the fact that his wife, Jeanne, had health insurance through her
employer convinced Canning to take the plunge.

ULMAS is a paperless, low-overhead company with three employees,
excluding family members, operating from a virtual office. It provides
marketing and bidding services targeting Defense Department contracts.
Although most of the business is generated from Long Island, ULMAS takes
on clients from anywhere in the country. The company's proprietary
software enables it to handpick and review 1000 to 6000 solicitations
each day, present them in easy-to-read formats with all the required
data and recommend them to clients to bid upon. Handholding through the
bidding and post-award process is free to the client and ULMAS only
draws a commission once a client gets paid for successfully completing a
contract.

The company has been in business for five years now. But prior to
launching full-time, Canning took full advantage for three years of the
business counseling and low-cost training offered by the Stony Brook
Small Business Development Center. The SBDC is funded by the U.S. Small
Business Administration.

One of the things Canning enjoys most about being an entrepreneur is the
financial security he says it affords him. "There aren't too many
downsides for me," said Canning of his new career as entrepreneur.
Canning also offers tips to those who are in the same situation he once
was. "Con-fer with the experts and learn and train to be an
entrepreneur, because it might not come naturally."

Page 1 of 2

With a chuckle Canning said, "My dream is to grow this business to a
point where I do not have to be employed here. That is the true
definition an entrepreneur."

When he's not ringing up sales for his clients Canning devotes a lot of
his time to children by volunteering with the local Boy Scouts and
sitting on the Smithtown School District, Industrial Advisory Board. "I
am surprised that in a country based on the free enterprise system,
there is very little business sense and financial literacy being taught
in our public school system," said Canning. "Anyone interested in
starting or purchasing a business must obtain the type of training and
education provided by the SBA."

\###

*All of the SBA's programs and services are provided to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis. For more information about the SBA please
visit [www.sba.gov/ny/ny](http://www.sba.gov/ny/ny).*