Atlanta artist Chandler Sherry was on the road when she first learned about the co-warehousing and micro-fulfillment center startup Saltbox.
“I saw one of their billboard signs that read, ‘A space where your dreams can grow.’ As cheesy as it sounds, I immediately pulled in for a tour. Since that moment, I knew my spot would be at Saltbox. It has increased my business efficiency, given me a sense of community and has given me a safe space to work in the heart of Atlanta,” Sherry told Hypepotamus. She’s now building her art company, Chan Art, within Saltbox Atlanta to get her original pieces of “abstract, serendipitous art” to buyers across the US.
Saltbox has put down physical roots in nine US cities to help business owners like Sherry get the space they need to grow their e-commerce capabilities.
Now, the Saltbox team is hitting the road to share the story of small businesses.
The Atlanta-based logistics and e-commerce startup launched their Saltbox Across America campaign last week by sending a group of their employees on a road trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles. This inaugural national campaign is a 10-day cross country tour to showcase how small businesses represent the lifeblood of the American economy.
At each stop, Saltbox will bring the Saltbox Container, where merchants will be able to ship their products and experience Saltbox in real time. Some merchant products will be selected for Saltbox’s upcoming Holiday Gift Guide.
“Small businesses accounted for 62% of all job creation since 1995, yet enterprise level companies get all of the attention on the news when it comes to economic activity. Our goal is to highlight the experiences of the small businesses that power so much of our economy and celebrate the work they do every day,” Saltbox CEO and Co-Founder Tyler Scriven told Hypepotamus.
According to the Saltbox Instagram (@joinsaltbox), their Across America campaign provided them “a year’s worth of learning” from the businesses they met and time spent on the road.
Stops along the trip include cities in Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Utah. The tour ends on Friday in California.
The learnings from this campaign will allow Saltbox to continue supporting and addressing critical small business challenges through logistics solutions, community-focused workspaces, on-site services, and software in a way that empowers a new generation of business owners to run the business of their dreams. So far, the company supports over 700 members across 12 locations nationwide, including the cities Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Washington, DC.
Ecommerce Across The Country
Saltbox was founded in 2019 by a team of e-commerce entrepreneurs who wanted to offer purpose-built workspaces and fulfillment and logistics support to small business owners everywhere.
“We believe focusing on the channels and strategies that will have the highest impact and most feasibility is important. Not only to create focus, but to limit unnecessary complexity as brands scale,” said Scriven.
Scriven explained that the e-commerce industry has grown in complexity over the years. The challenges of transportation costs and supply chain bottlenecks have increased pressure on small businesses. Saltbox has played a big part in helping solve these issues by democratizing logistics and providing accessible and community-centric solutions for small businesses and modern merchants.
“As we talk to brands around the country, profitability and cash flow are top of mind. Better balance sheet management seems to be the topic preoccupying many e-commerce entrepreneurial communities. Being able to efficiently manage your inventory positions to both not miss out on sales, while also not getting over your skis financially speaking, has really become an important function of brand growth planning,” said Scriven.
“As we progress through this year, we’re investing in further innovation of those services as well as ways to engage with potential members outside of the cities where Saltbox currently has locations. We’ll be excited to share more on that in the future,” said Scriven.
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