Asheville - Jami Daniels, owner of Daniels Business Services and long-time Asheville

entrepreneur, is re-imagining not only her own business model but what a business model could look like for the area's makers and crafters. Named after her late grandfather, Ernest Daniels, Ernest is the first ever co-warehousing facility for the Asheville area. Borne out of a need to revamp her 65,000-square-foot building on Sweeten Creek Road – formerly Daniels Graphics – Jami landed on the concept of a space for local makers and entrepreneurs who had outgrown their garage, dining room table, or spare bedroom.

Ernest is the solution for the small business maker or crafter who is ready to scale up,

but lacks the warehousing space to do so. Co-warehousing spaces are popping up across the

country, but Ernest is western North Carolina’s first-ever facility of this kind. Located off

Interstate 40 at exit 51, on Sweeten Creek Road in Asheville, Ernest offers a centralized, secure

and private location for inventory and receiving, and sending shipments. Specific offerings

include climate-controlled spaces, loading docks, forklift and pallet jacks, a shipping station,

daily pick-ups and deliveries, short-term spaces, and on-demand flex staffing. And for the

entrepreneur who requires meeting space for vendors or clients, or a space for product

photography, Ernest offers shared office space, conference rooms, a photo studio and parking.

 “Ernest is a launch pad for small businesses and startups,” said Daniels. “We offer a professional setting for entrepreneurs and all the things they need to grow their business, but without the overhead.” Ernest helps e-commerce entrepreneurs get the most out of their business by providing members with a place to fill orders, accept a pallet, take product photography, host a meeting in a private conference room, or work on their laptop in a clean, comfortable, shared office space.

Daniels envisions Ernest as a collective – a natural community of makers and creators

who want to take their business to the next level. “When a maker chooses Ernest, they’re going

to be interacting with like-minded entrepreneurs. That sort of synergy naturally forms ‘community,’ resulting in shared support for one another,” said Daniels. Ernest provides

emerging entrepreneurs with a “light” footprint, freeing them up to concentrate on the needs of their business and not worry about the details of a storefront or permanent space.

Even though the facility is being completely renovated to support the co-warehousing

model, they already have one tenant. Trekroll, an Asheville-based outdoor gear company, was

looking for flex space in Asheville to do proof of concept manufacturing for a startup in the

outdoors industry. “The Ernest building has been the perfect fit,” said Sanford Snyderman,

founder, Trekroll. “We appreciate that our space can adjust to meet our needs and the fulfillment services are a big help, allowing us to concentrate on making our product. The location, parking, high ceilings, and loading dock are nice extras.”

Space at Ernest is being parceled into a maximum of 20 warehouse suites ranging in

size from 200 to 1,500 square feet. Tenants will have access to a pop-up fulfillment space for

seasonal or “burst” orders. In addition to the flexible spaces, Ernest takes it a step further with a flex staffing model. It can supply staff to help with a variety of logistical or warehouse focused tasks and will also offer on-demand, full service, or flex fulfillment support.

Ernest is currently pre-booking spaces and is on track to have a fully operational facility

in early 2023. As progress is made, Daniels plans to host pop-up events, tours and showcase

improvements via social media.