Winlee Corporation, a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business, was recently formed by Lee, who like Doyle was a disabled veteran. He founded a small company that performs general construction work. But when he tried to firm up a contract with a government agency, he ran into problems.

Lee came to DPTAC asking for help with a request for proposal for a contract under $25,000. "John needed help responding to the government's unique terms and conditions," said Chaplin. "Our counselor Sherri Rose helped him and Winlee Corporation was awarded its first government contract."

Chaplin noted that DPTAC, this January, will hold its annual Veteran Procurement Fair to introduce veterans with businesses to contracts available from the Department of Defense and private companies.

DPTAC provides assistance to business firms by sponsoring outreach workshops and seminars, the implementation of government market research in the form of bid information opportunities, and one-on-one counseling sessions on all aspects of government procurement. The center's offerings have reflected the changes in the government marketplace.

"It sounds like a simple process, but isn't," says Chaplin. "We train our clients in e-commerce, educate them about the varied aspects of the bidding process and strongly advocate the use of certification as a potent tool to obtain prime and subcontracting opportunities." Chaplin's clients have included diverse companies ranging from glove manufacturers to warehousing operations.

Generally, a small business is defined by federal regulations to include those manufacturing companies that employ less than 500 workers. A service company's size is determined by annual gross sales.

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Contact: Sheryl Weinstein
sheryl.m.weinstein@njit.edu
973-596-3436
New Jersey Institute of Technology
5-Oct-2005