A model, a stock broker and a caterer walk into a bar…

But it’s just one person and she’s Martha Stewart?

There are very few people who I enjoy MORE after learning new things about them. 

But that’s what happened when I watched Martha, the candid documentary told by Martha Stewart herself, and the people who know her best. 

“She was a little outrageous to get people’s attention.”

“She had one gear: forward.”

“She lives a life devoted to detail.”

“I have two mottos. One is learn something new every day, and the second one is when you’re through changing, you’re through.”

“Do not try to pigeon hole Martha Stewart. She’s the mother of reinvention.”

I was 10 minutes in and it was starting to sound like Martha might be that girl…..

Who else has the range? Who else can claim the title of first female self-made billionaire in the US? Who else is baking bread and also making it? Only Martha. 

Before the documentary, I was indifferent to Martha Stewart.

I’m not too proud to admit that I was jaded by her arrest in 2004. I was 13 at the time and frankly very impressionable. 

I was also dressing like this so maybe I should’ve been the one serving time. 

Only God can judge.

All I knew was that Martha was an excellent cook but now she was going to prison and she must’ve been an awful person who definitely deserved it. 

I’m not here to defend the reasons she ended up in West Virginia’s Federal Prison Camp. But after learning about how she spent her 4 months behind bars, I admire her deeply.  

In the documentary, Martha details her time in prison where she encouraged women to pursue entrepreneurship. She wanted to hear each of their hopes and dreams and she wanted to help them make it happen. 

She smuggled in food to bake for the gals. Again, not recommended for legal reasons but has there ever been a better girl’s girl?

The women loved her. 

In what is now one of my favorite photos to exist, below is Martha getting off the plane after returning home, wearing a poncho that was made by a fellow inmate who she still talks to.

Martha made the most out of a situation that could’ve broken her. She, herself, says she was set free by going to prison. 

When she came back, her brand was undoubtedly damaged. She had no idea if she could ever salvage what was left of her name. And then she showed up with Snoop Dogg? Talk about a reinvention.

(I had a lot of questions, too and the documentary answers them all.)

Less than being a billionaire, this is what’s actually inspiring about Martha Stewart: her dedication to trying something new. It’s what her career has been built and re-built on, over and over again.

I highly recommend the documentary - it’s now streaming on Netflix and you can actually watch it on the clock because it’s basically attending a business mastermind for 90 minutes led by Martha in her Hampton’s home, which is just more than a girl can even ask for.

I hope what’s ahead of us isn’t federal prison, but rest assured that surviving hard times is what proves to you that you can do anything. 

If it’s good enough for Martha, it’s good enough for me.

Xo, The Salesgirls

Martha’s 4-Ingredient Hot Chocolate Recipe