Mississippi is filled with entrepreneurs, men and women who see a need and diligently work to fulfill that need with innovative products and services. Many of these Mississippians think outside the box and look for pragmatic solutions to real-life problems – solutions that are not only effective but affordable and desirable as well.
Chad Mills of Pontotoc County is the perfect example of this kind of practical innovation, and his Magnolia Mansions are turning dreams into reality – one tiny home at a time.
Along with Magnolia Mansions, Mills is the owner and CEO of Mills Home Center, which also encompasses Mills Mobile Home Supply and Pontotoc Mobile Home Transport. It’s truly one-stop shopping for people seeking attractive and affordable housing.
As his catchy radio and television ads state, “Chad Mills has the deals!”
But in a recent interview with Mills, he explained that after the COVID pandemic, those deals were harder to provide to his customers.
The basic material cost of manufactured homes (and all building supplies, in general) began to soar exponentially. As a result, more and more of the customers who came to him were simply unable to purchase even the most affordable mobile homes on his lot.
Seeing prospective homeowners walk away from his business without hope of other housing options deeply bothered Mills. So, he began to ponder an affordable solution to that problem. And it was a problem that he understood all too well. As the child of a single mother, he recalled with gratitude the mobile homes in which they lived throughout his life.
Those memories and his gratitude fueled an entirely new business venture for Mills, the manufacturing of tiny homes.
After much research and preparation, his team started building Magnolia Mansions (ranging in size from 600 to 800 square feet) at the beginning of this year. By mid-October, they had manufactured and sold 23 tiny homes that were delivered to customers across the mid-south.
In case the modern trend of tiny homes is new to you, most of these one-bedroom houses average less than 400 square feet in size, with some having additional loft spaces. They are built to be energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and much more affordable.
But this national mini-mansion movement is not just about price; it’s also about size – or downsizing, to be more specific. Less is more these days, especially for two specific and opposite ends of the life spectrum – baby boomers and millennials.
According to Mills, most of his customers do fit into one of these two demographics, but tiny homes appeal to everyone, regardless of age or economic status.
For those needing a bit more space than the typical tiny home provides, Magnolia Mansions offers various sizes, which can be completely customized to the customer’s needs. In fact, the Magnolia team recently completed its first two-bedroom house (16×52), and it is available to view by appointment in Pontotoc. Call 662-489-7100 for details.
But Mills has big plans for his tiny home business, with three-bedroom homes in the works, as well as an entire village of small homes.
Called Magnolia Gardens, this community of 50 mini mansions is slated to be built right outside the city limits of Pontotoc on Highway 41. Preliminary designs for this senior-living, gated community include onsite security, emergency healthcare staff, and transportation services.
Right now, it’s just a big dream about a neighborhood of tiny homes.
But for anyone who knows Chad Mills, that dream will most likely become a reality sooner than later, because as is the case with many small business owners in Mississippi, he truly cares about the needs of the people he serves. He fully understands that these are people who might never be able to own their own homes without the efforts of his team of builders at Magnolia Mansions.
In a recent post, Mills explained his determination and drive with one simple statement: “I will never forget what struggle feels like!”
So, for his fellow Mississippians in the middle of that struggle, Chad Mills plans to always have the deals – on attractive and affordable housing.
*Photos courtesy of Magnolia Mansions
