DALLAS — In a small room, on the SMU Campus, Daybreak Anchor Kara Sewell sat knee-to-knee with domestic goddess and business mogul Martha Stewart. Kara had fifteen minutes to talk off stage before their Q&A in front of thousands of Stewart's fans.
If you think the 81-year-old will ever slow down, she tells Kara her business plan does not have an end date in #UpWithHer.
"You have to be focused. I think focus is extremely important. I think you have to be strong. I think you have to know what you're going for. That's very important to make up your mind. What are you really trying to do with this time that you have? And, you know, I could say a million trite things, but it is up to the person to sort of develop a path of action," said Stewart.
Martha Stewart doesn’t have time for trite. The entrepreneur said her schedule would horrify most people. Up before the sun, the self-proclaimed insomniac said when she’s working, every minute is managed.
"And that's what you must do. A master plan doesn't always work, and you must be able to compromise. You must be able to change. You can't be afraid of that. And you go from there," she said.
Stewart says if you’re not learning, in business, you can’t teach or influence. Reaching new audiences is crucial to growth.
"Change is good, adaptation is good, evolution is good. All those words are very important in the development of a career of a business. And I try very hard to," she said. "I mean, I have my little my little sayings for myself: 'When you're through changing, you're through.' That's a very important thing to think about. Also, learn something new every day."
Who teachers Stewart the most? Her grandkids.
"Well, they teach me every day. I mean, the grandson just the other day said, 'Why did you name your dog Emperor's Chin?' And I said, 'Well, your, you know, Chinese history studies, Chinese.' He's 11 years old. He speaks Mandarin. And he said, 'Well, you know, Emperor's Chin didn't exist. He said, the Chin Dynasty only had emperors," said Stewart.
We had a good laugh over that one.
"I learned not to fool around with children. My facts better be right, " said Stewart.
Smart runs in the family. Stewart is the first self-made female billionaire.
"You don't stop. I mean, just keep on keeping on. So, what is something that [makes] you go, 'Okay, this is a winner. This is not a winner'? You obviously have developed an eye for that. How do you know?" said Kara Sewell.
"I don't want to work on projects or on products that I do not believe in. So, if there is a dog food that is not a good dog food, I'm not going to put my name on it or, you know, do work for them. I don't want to do that. I want my products with my name associated to be good products," says Stewart.
That includes her line of CBD products, Sketcher’s shoes, cookware, and many products she’s designing in 2023.
Kara asked Martha, "What is something people will not learn about you just by Googling your name?"
She said that she’s currently obsessed with Pilates. Despite a warning from her doctor after an injury, she works with a Pilates instructor three days a week and has never felt better.
And she doesn’t like curtains, in fact, she’d like to do a book on decorating windows without curtains. You won’t find any curtains inside her homes.