Martha Stewart 'Walked Out' Of Negotiations When She Started Her Food Empire
"Know your worth." It's a simple piece of advice that we could all afford to be reminded of every once in a while. Those three words can prevent us from making poor relationship decisions, job choices, and other life-altering changes. Martha Stewart knows this, as the renowned multimedia lifestyle entrepreneur recently shared when she sat down with Chef José Andrés for his "Longer Tables" podcast in a conversation about self-worth.
Stewart started out as a model and stockbroker before launching her catering business in her basement, which eventually became a million-dollar enterprise, according to the American Academy of Achievement. While she's now a best-selling author, chef, and TV personality with a net worth of $400 million, not everyone saw her value and potential in her early days.
A 60-second segment from her interview with Andrés was shared on Andrés' Instagram account. In the segment, she talks about starting out as a businesswoman in the 1980s and why she once walked out of a business negotiation.
Stewart says knowing your self-worth is key in starting a business
Andrés begins the segment by crediting Stewart with being the person who created "the first food media empire," asking about her time as a businesswoman in the early '80s. She responds with a reminder that if you're planning to start your own business, you should aim to be taken seriously — but she then shares a story about a time when she wasn't taken seriously. It was during her first search for a business partner with whom she could raise money for an initial public offering (IPO). Her first partner offered her 40% of the business while he kept the remaining 60% because she was "just a beginner." She turned down the offer, claiming she "didn't want to hear such numbers." And who could blame her?
Stewart claims the partner she did decide to work with offered her a figure that better aligned with what she was worth, but she doesn't share the numbers. The segment ends with a valuable word of advice: "Knowing your self-worth is terribly important when you're starting in business." People agreed with her lesson: Several users commented on the clip with applause emojis and other praise, including one who said they "made so much money" when they invested in Stewart's media company, which at one point made her a billionaire.