OMAHA, Neb. -- Electronic commerce is a business sector that continues to grow in the United States; and now with the initiation of Elevator Co-Warehousing and Community, businesses in the Omaha region will be able to improve their sales. 

What started as a small e-commerce business for the Lerda family has now grown into a community that helps other local businesses here in town.

“This business is going to provide e-commerce companies, makers, and any small businesses with physical goods that are having trouble finding the right-size space for their business to grow," Shanna Lerda, owner of Elevator said. "And we’re going to do that by offering flexible, monthly memberships with all-inclusive pricing, so the spaces are move-in ready, they’re small, so you can size up or down as you need to.”

Electronic commerce, also known as e-commerce, consists of buying and selling products through the internet or social networks.

Emiliano and Shannon Lerda started with the idea of renting a warehouse last year after seeing an increase in sales in their e-commerce business and a lack of space in their home. According to Emiliano and Shannon, this happened with many businesses in the region.

“Our goal is to help them grow their business, get it out of their house and ideally they will become more successful being here," Lerda said. "That they will be able to get their own warehouse, larger warehouse space on a longer-term lease. But in the meantime, we want to offer the flexibility that they need in order to be that stepping stone to grow their business.”

On October 1, the first warehouse in the Midwest, Elevator, located at 14th and Jones Streets, will open its doors. Shannon said Elevator’s purpose is to offer a community of support to local businesses.

“The community that you’re going to have here, networking with other e-commerce professionals and getting the resources that you need to grow your business so you’re not working alone,” Lerda said. 

Once construction for Elevator Co-Warehousing and Community is complete, the 55,000-square-foot warehouse will have more than 90 spaces of varying sizes available to lease.

According to Shannon, there are almost 2,000 e-commerce businesses in the Omaha area, and if a local business is interested in renting a space, they can reach out through the website: https://www.elevatorspaces.com.