Connie L. Thomas is the chief executive officer and owner of Victory Home Center, LLC, an independent retailer of prefabricated and manufactured homes serving clients throughout Louisiana. A longtime entrepreneur across multiple industries, Ms. Thomas has run Victory Home Center since 2000 and has grown the business to become one of the largest retailers of its type in the United States. Currently, the company partners with five manufacturers to offer clients premium manufactured homes in a variety of floor plans and sizes. Ms. Thomas and her staff offer new and custom single- and double-wide homes in addition to a selection of previously owned structures, and are proud to provide their clients with a wide range of affordable and luxury housing solutions.
Ms. Thomas has enjoyed more than three decades of success as an innovator and business owner. Prior to entering the manufactured home industry, she earned her cosmetology license and built a significant beauty industry business spanning 14 years. Working first as a hair designer at two salons, she eventually branched out to become a salon owner, an experience that helped to prepare her for success in the mobile home industry. Ms. Thomas initially launched Victory Home Center as a joint venture with her former husband, and they spent more than 15 years developing the business together. In 2018, she bought the company out, becoming the sole owner, and has continued to invest in its success, turning it into one of the biggest single-lot manufactured home sales companies in the industry.
As owner and chief executive officer, Ms. Thomas is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s operation, including financial functions, development and planning, and marketing. She manages all bookkeeping and payroll operations, commission payouts and supervision of the company’s sales team, and hiring, in addition to creating marketing strategies. A regional celebrity with a larger-than-life persona, Ms. Thomas has built a strong brand identity for Victory Home Center and often appears in commercials and other marketing. She recalls an instance where she was approached by a potential customer whose son had been impressed by her and her advertisements and wanted to meet her. What began as a friendly meeting gradually evolved into a business relationship, as the family returned two years later to purchase a home.
Ms. Thomas is proud to have developed Victory Home Center into a cornerstone of the Louisiana manufactured home market, and she looks forward to continuing to build the business to better serve her clients, staff, and the communities that she helps to create. She is proud to have made Victory Home Center the only single female-owned manufactured home dealership in the state and hopes to be an example for other female entrepreneurs in the region and the industry. As a trailblazer in her field, Ms. Thomas has been featured in seven different magazines, including on the cover of Tangi Lifestyles, and is a frequent interviewee on local radio stations. She advises others looking to succeed in business to “do you, because they’re going to talk about you anyway,” and to chase success regardless of the opinions of others. In the coming years, Ms. Thomas hopes to begin to cement her legacy in her field and to remain an inspiration to other entrepreneurial hopefuls.
Outside her work in the mobile home industry, Ms. Thomas is active in community charitable organizations and is a supporter of her local law enforcement department. She credits her success in business and in life to the strength that she gains from her faith and her family, especially her daughter, who she considers to be a gift from God. In her personal time, Ms. Thomas enjoys spending time outdoors boating and riding her tractor.
