In 1970s America, “social norms and laws were increasingly framed in favor of women,” and “the role of women in nuclear families took radical shift from those of earlier generations” (1970s 1). Women working outside of the household became an acceptable social norm, and the number of career fields in which women were able to work drastically increased. This new aspect of American culture contributed to Martha Stewart becoming an entrepreneur by setting up a background in which she could flourish and succeed with little resistance from social and gender norms. Although both New York City culture and American culture advanced Martha’s predisposition towards becoming an entrepreneur, the importance of culture is not able to supersede the importance personality and life experience in the case of Martha Stewart. The benefits American and New York culture added to Martha’s entrepreneurial predisposition were furthered by Martha’s personal traits and life …show more content…
Independence, being defined as the “freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others” (Dictionary.com), paints an accurate portrait of Martha Stewart. Despite the innumerable amount of support, influence, and aid from others she has received, Martha has formed no sort of reliance on those fleeting sources. Martha’s independence can once again be exhibited by Martha’s very own mother “‘[hesitating] to give [Martha] any advice because [Martha] thought she knew it all’” (50). Having grown up in a home where the cliché “if you want something done, do it yourself” was a cardinal rule, and Martha became completely self-sufficient and self-reliant. After divorcing her husband and loosing several of friends in the divorce, Martha was “‘forced to seek home and comfort elsewhere’” (Allen 31), and she did just that when she removed herself to Long Island and continued with her increasingly successful enterprise.
Returning to the relevance of Martha’s personality and life experiences in slating her towards becoming an entrepreneur, Stewart’s aggressiveness, creativity, and independence offer an explanation for Martha’s founding of a business. Martha was inclined, above all other individuals, to become an entrepreneur because of a unique combination of her personal characteristics, aggression, creativity, and independence, and her life