CION was founded by Nonso Onukwuba, a Nigerian-born aerospace engineer who was inspired by his own challenges and frustrations in finding beneficial skin care products that would work for his specific skin type. A self-proclaimed know-it-all, Nonso decided to solve the problem of finding quality skin care by creating CION—a brand designed to take the guess work out of skin care. He and his siblings have been through a lot together and have developed an unbreakable bond. One marked by love and friendship. That love and bond shared by siblings is very much real and ever present today. So present in fact that the name is inspired by them!
Nonso needed to build a sound business plan in order to apply for a business loan for additional revolving capital and purchase inventory. In addition, Nonso hopes to enter an industry that’s geared more towards women. The challenge is to develop a strong strategic marketing and sales plan to the demographic he wishes to serve. The additional funding would help him have a budget to hire a professional marketing agency to help him plan and execute a strong marketing strategy.
Nonso worked with Genie Bautista from the Illinois SBDC at College of DuPage from the beginning. Genie was able to provide resources such industry reports, financial statistics, and with accompanying templates for Nonso to build a strong business plan to apply for funding.
Illinois SBDC at College of DuPage was able to leverage their relationship with lenders in order to refer Nonso to apply for his first business loan.
As a result of his loan approval, he was able to purchase the amount of inventory he needed to launch and hire a marketing agency to help him launch and manage his social media and website.
Nonso Onukwuba stated, ”Working with the Illinois SBDC and especially Genie has been very transformational for both me and my business. Not only have I gained valuable tips for business development, I have also gained access to resources such as reports, financial analysis tools and calculators and templates that have helped my small business get on its feet and start growing.
Genie has also been an invaluable friend who has listened to my struggles and issues and provided great advice that has helped me navigate this journey. She was also very instrumental in helping me receive funding without which I would not have gotten very far. I am very grateful to her for all her help to me. I am very happy to work with the SBDC and I look forward to a long and prosperous future together.”
Contact Information
Business Development Center
535 Duane Street, Office 233
Glen Ellyn IL 60137
(630) 942-2600
Email: bdc@cod.edu
Regular Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Map and Directions