After a plea for help at the beginning of the month, Ballard Organics received a great response through customers buying soap or stock but it's not enough, writes owner Ben Busby-Collins in an email.

"In 3 weeks we had the equivalent of 4 months of sales on our online shopping cart and we sold $33,250 in stock bringing the total stock sold to $84,250. The sales were very good but not enough to keep the manufacturing site we're in," he said.

Busby-Collins added that the stock offering did not reach the minimum required by Washington State DFI to use the funds and the money is still in an impound account with US Bank.

"We have until May 15th to reach the minimum but if we do not reach the $150,000 minimum of the offering by that time then those that have invested will get their money back," he said.

At the start of February, Busby-Collins announced that Ballard Organics is in trouble and needed community support to stay open.

Busby-Collins explained that a few years ago, the economy was good and business booming for Ballard Organics. They got caught up in the excitement of growth potential and moved into a large warehouse.
But now the overhead from the larger facility combined with slower growth and struggling business partners has put them in a tough situation.

Busby-Collins said it became apparent that they needed to downsize the business to survive.

"Ballard Organics has steady sales to support a smaller business and I am making changes to be profitable with the sales we have. To that end I am looking for a smaller manufacturing site, something around 2,000 sq.ft. I'm also selling the two 1,200 gallon double boilers used for liquid soap making and will get a smaller tank to keep up with production. The hardest part of downsizing is that we had to cut staff. a layoff is something I've tried to avoid but was needed," Busby-Collins wrote.

Busby-Collins is grateful for the community's continued support and said the increase in sales from this past month will help cover the cost of moving into a smaller warehouse next month.

"Though the changes are hard I believe the company will be in a stronger position to face economic uncertainty once these changes are made," Busby-Collins said.