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In 1982, Martha Stewart<\/strong> made her entrance onto the mass-market stage with the publication of her book, Entertaining<\/em>. She has since gone on to write 99<\/strong> more, not to mention becoming the first female self-made billionaire in American history <\/strong>when she took Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) public in 1999.<\/p>\nWidely considered to be the \u201coriginal influencer,\u201d Stewart has skillfully used her good looks, personal stories, and skill to build a massive following, well before social media made that a common feat. In fact, her life (excepting the prison stay, of course) is the dream of all entrepreneurs \u2014 to start a business based on your passions that continues to grow and evolve with you through the years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
Martha Stewart has made new friends in her eighth decade. (Image courtesy Martha Stewart Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThat business is now the subject of a Netflix documentary, and what is clear as one watches is that Stewart\u2019s core skill (beyond even her green thumb and approachability) is her <\/strong>adaptability<\/strong>, something she continues to excel at even at 83<\/strong> years old. Her brand has traversed the retail and media landscape \u2014 from Kmart <\/strong>to Amazon<\/strong>, from NBC<\/strong> to TikTok <\/strong>and most recently as host of an Amazon livestream this Black Friday.<\/p>\nA master of reinvention, Stewart\u2019s five<\/strong> decades of continuous cultural relevance \u2014 which range from \u201980s tablescapes to an unlikely yet somehow perfect partnership with Snoop Dogg \u2014 have helped her develop an arsenal of tips relevant to any influencer, indeed any entrepreneur, today.<\/strong><\/p>\nLucky for us, she took the stage at the recent Amazon Accelerate conference to share some of what she\u2019s learned, as well as some fun anecdotes from her decades in the trenches of entrepreneurship (like the fact that she knew Jeff Bezos back when he had hair). Here are some of her top tips:<\/p>\n
1. No Matter the Platform, Tell a Story<\/strong>From the outset Stewart understood the need for good storytelling. Her first book, Entertaining<\/em>, was a runaway hit because it wasn\u2019t just another cookbook (which, by the way, was what her publishers wanted).<\/p>\n\n
Image courtesy Amazon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cIt was really three<\/strong> books in one,\u201d recounted Stewart. \u201cMy publisher wanted it to be an ordinary cookbook with just recipes and maybe a few pictures; that was what cookbooks were in 1982. I wanted it to be highly illustrated and tell a story<\/strong> as well as give the best possible recipes. It became a landmark book.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd everything that the Martha Stewart brand has become extends from that first success: \u201cContent remains king to me<\/strong>,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is the most important thing that I have created, the educational content that is so useful to millions and millions<\/strong> of people, and that also flows into the product, because the product came out of that content.\u201d<\/p>\nStewart\u2019s 100th<\/sup> book was published earlier this month and features 100<\/strong> of her favorite recipes, each with a backstory.<\/p>\n2. Always be Looking Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\nAfter the success of her first book, \u201cI realized that I could write a book a year, and that would be very productive,\u201d said Stewart. Of course, that\u2019s not what she did, or at least that\u2019s not all <\/em>she did. Given the volume of ideas she had, she launched a magazine \u2014 another pioneering take on an old model that blended advice and how-to content with lifestyle inspiration. That magazine led to TV and products (because not everyone wants to make things themselves), which eventually led to the pioneering idea of an \u201comnimedia\u201d company.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was a solar system with content at the center,\u201d<\/strong> Stewart explained. \u201cContent was always the most important thing to me, and with that we then radiated out into media, then we radiated out into omni-merchandising. And then, of course omni-net; the internet became extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n3. Curiosity and Passion are Necessities<\/strong><\/h2>\nFor budding entrepreneurs, Stewart said her biggest piece of advice is: \u201cIf you\u2019re not passionate about this idea that you\u2019ve come up with, forget it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nBeyond that, she advised everyone to approach their days with curiosity: \u201cIt is very interesting to organize one\u2019s day around curiosity,\u201d she said. \u201cI develop my products that way. Every day I think of another product that could be useful and that we could sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
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