Hitcents finishes major upgrade

By the Daily News
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 11:44 AM CDT

By RAED G. BATTAH, The Daily News, rbattah@bgdailynews.com / 783-3246

Bowling Green based Hitcents.com recently underwent an ambitious renovation project for its corporate headquarters at Western Kentucky University's Center for Research and Development.

The company, founded by twins Chris and Clinton Mills, has also inked a contract with Chandler Properties Management to wire 320 apartment units at Chandler Park with high-speed Internet. "It's a nice amenity that can be offered to the resident at a greatly reduced rate," said David Chandler, of Chandler Real Estate. "We've got 96 units completed out of 320 and we have 75 units leased."

Chandler also said Hitcents is doing the new Web page development for Chandler Real Estate, Chandler Property Management and Chandler Park Apartments.

Chris Mills, president of Hitcents, said the company is continuing to show marked growth with established regional businesses.

"We've hired a full sales team to call on businesses to see what their IT business needs are," Mills said. "Our sales team focuses on Bowling Green, Nashville and all the other surrounding communities. That way it's easier to meet our clients face to face."

Clinton Mills said he's excited at the pace his company has grown and diversified.

"I have been amazed that we have grown from three to over 20 employees in only one year," he said. "Our employees have been essential in helping us enter these new fields."

The Mills brothers moved to Bowling Green when their father was transferred here to work at the Corvette Assembly Plant. Clinton Mills said the city's broadening technology base provides many potential clients.

"I feel that Bowling Green has a lot of potential for growth in the technology sector," he said. "Many companies need a company like ours to assist them with their technology needs."

Hitcents, which was bought by Houchens Industries in 2002, will connect over 300 Houchens Markets through a central location. They are using a Virtual Private Network to create a network centralized in their main office. "It's quite a bit of detail," said Jimmie Gipson, chief executive officer of Houchens. "In theory, we're trying to do a better job communicating with all of our satellite stores. We'd like to be able to teleconference and transfer information, that's what they're doing for us. Just getting sales and inventory is the tip of the iceberg. They have designed a system that will be layered, where they finish one phase and start another. They will be our source for setting up that system throughout our geographic areas."

Chris Mills said customer service is the company's most important product and is responsible for their continued success.

"If we're to sustain business relationships with clients for four to five years, then we needed to make sure our customer service was second to none."

But the service only comes with their products, which have expanded from simple Web advertising to Web development, tech support, consulting, software solutions and e-mail marketing. Most recently, Mills spawned a new sector for Hitcents with his development of EyeOn, a high-tech security and surveillance package for homes.

"It was my idea, my concept, and I hired an engineer to take my concept and run with it," Mills said.

The EyeOn service is controlled by the homeowner who, through either digital touchscreens or a remote Internet browser that doubles as a regular cell phone, can control multiple tasks with simple commands. Turning on lights, climate control and keeping a watch on the home will all be done at the touch of a button, from anywhere. Chandler is having Mills put a system in his own home.

"It will be a very sophisticated system," Chandler said.

The Mills brothers have been working countless hours, managing their business, growing its service base and trying to stay innovative the whole time. They keep in touch with those who've helped and inspired them and those who have supported them from the beginning. When the two brothers were faced with a dilemma of finishing courses at Western Kentucky University or going full time into their business, they got a blessing from a close friend and mentor, WKU President Gary Ransdell.

"It wasn't about the money," Mills said. "We had begun to have employees who had families and children, and we wanted to continue to support them."

Ransdell said he applauded the young men and offered his support in whatever way he could provide. "I've known them since they were freshmen," Ransdell said. "They're friends with my son.

"Since I've known them, they have been building this company as young high school students. They were then shaping an idea to bring an Internet marketing company. I was fascinated and impressed by their intellect but also their intuition regarding technology and opportunity."

Ransdell said what struck him about the duo was that as he observed them at a young age, they seemed to understand the boom and the bust in the Internet marketing phenomenon of the late '90s; they had a firm grasp on how to take advantage of the lessons, both success and failure, in that era when Internet marketing went down. "They found a niche based on what they observed and began to build something that would have staying power," he said. "And they've continued to refine that market niche to ensure long term staying power."

Ransdell said Hitcents' location in the Center for Research and Development is key in demonstrating the kind of businesses the center looks to foster.

"They fit exactly the type of business for what the center for research and development was created, new economy and technology-driven," he said.

He acknowledged the value-added incentive for Houchens in adding Hitcents to its family of companies. "Houchens is a highly diversified corporate leader in our community, but their reach is global," he said. "Houchens' approach to business and Hitcents' approach to business is much like the way we're trying to approach it at WKU, multidimensional, global and responsive to opportunity."

Ransdell said the Mills brothers have natural leadership qualities and possess the drive the university tries to impress on students.

"They represent precisely what we're trying to instill at Western, entrepreneurial confidence and market instincts," he said. "Those are the things that we'd like for as many of our graduates as possible to grasp. If a little bit of them could rub off on the liberal arts major or any other major, what a great influence they will have had."