Things have been moving along so quickly with Dough Uprising that I’ve barely had a chance to stop and catch you up, so today I thought I’d do just that.

It’s not that we’ve taken any major new steps – actually even our website is still sort of in flux – but after a couple of months at the market, we now know for sure that we have a product we can sell. In fact, we’ve sold out or come close almost every week.

Of course, we’ve also gotten a lot better at guessing what it is we really need. Our first week was almost comical. We knew our current market was small, so we guessed at what small felt like to us, and we were oh so wrong. Turns out small is actually pretty big — close to our capacity in our little home oven.

So when we move to the markets in DC (which we hope to do next season) there’s no doubt in our minds that we’ll need to be cooking in a commercial kitchen.

But that’s where we come to our current hangup. Technically right now we could expand, easily. We have offers from multiple other markets where we’d love to be selling on other days of the week. And if we were to move to those markets we could probably make enough money to allow one of us to take it full time — for the summer.

The problem comes when summer ends. Sure the holidays should be great for pies, but then we don’t have much of an outlet from January to April or May. The reality is that it looks like our next step will need to be open a store front downtown, or open a store front on wheels. And that requires a big investment.

So at this point, we’re still plotting out our next steps… and while I’m sad that it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to tackle that big step right away, I’m so excited to know that it’s even an option.

There are, truly, a lot of ways this could have gone. Mark and I thought our pie rocked, but that didn’t mean everyone else would agree.

We’re lucky that they do. And for now, even if we have to stay small a little longer, I think that’s enough.

I may have missed a few panels, but I still managed to walk away with some serious knowledge and inspiration that I can’t wait to put to good use. Here are my top 5 takeaways from Alt Summer 2014…

1 // Follow up. This internal case study from Megan Gilger was a real eye-opener for me. There are so many more things I could be doing to follow up after a campaign, both internally and with the brand.

2 // Get clear about the life you want, and run like hell at it. We were reminded over and over (and this is maybe one of the most awesome things about Alt) that we are so not alone. Success is about hard work and no sleep, you have to be relentless.

3 // Post to social media at 10, 12, and 4 every day. That’s when the most folks are available on both coasts. (Full disclosure: This advice came from Susan Peterson, who I think we can all agree knows exactly what she’s talking about, but I’m not sure which time zone she’s referring to. I do, however, find that 10-4 east coast time is my most active on Twitter.)

4 // Take advantage of “monetizable moments.” This is another one from the Alt panel on working with brands. Sure having a baby and getting married are moments to seize (I’m reminded of Joy the Baker’s tongue in cheek food blogger tip #3) but what about travel, shopping for a new home, and other big events? Not that it’s a requirement, but I haven’t always used these to the best of their ability.

5 // Set aside one day a month to dream big. I’m always dreaming, but I love the idea of setting some dedicated time aside.

P.S. See my top 6 takeaways from January’s Alt Summit here.