In the past three years, Stewart has turned MarthaStewart.com into an online destination that boasts over 1.5 million registered users who can sift through content from her television programming, radio shows, newspaper columns, and magazines, or buy gifts and houseware from her online merchandising business.

With $33 million in revenue for the first nine months in 2000, Internet and direct commerce were the fastest growing segments of Stewart's company.

She didnt do this all by herself, of course - the site has been overseen by an army of Internet experts. But as with every other aspect of her business, it is Stewart who is running the show. Thats a good thing, because close quarters top-level executive oversight is a key to success in all web business ventures. The technology is too green, the choices too complex, and the cost of failure too high to leave web effort to subordinates.

Martha also sorrounded herself with some of the tech world's best teachers - among them her friend Charles Simonyi, who as the title "distinguished engineer" at Microsoft Reseach - in order to gain a grasp of the issues sorrounding building a site, if not how to build a site herself. And she states what should be the mantra of every business manager or professional: "I dont have time to learn all of the technology and how many miles of wires we have running under the floors. But I ubderstand the process."

As one might expect from the lifestyle-and-crafts expert, Stewart wants to create a site that is beautiful, elegant, and useful. "The bottom line is," she says, "is it working, is it providing a service, is it something good, does it do what I want it to do?"also

Stewart has has also kept tight control over costs. From the outset, she has avoided making huge expenditures on building new technology, preferring to depend on what is proven and readily available. No decision is made without first passing Stewart's desk. The Internet can become a little fiefdom," she says, "I dont want that to happen here. Some companies just dont know whats going on."

But thats not to say Stewart hasnt been involved in the technology decisions. For instance, it became clear that the site would be much easier to use if it shared a shopping cart with Kmart's BlueLight.com, where her Martha Stewart Everdayline is available. Stewart moved quickly to work out the changes with Mark Goldstein, CEO of BlueLight.

"Nothing happens as quickly as you hope," she says. "I'm a terribly logical person, and terribly, terribly practical. And I think all this stuff should be that way but it isnt. You have to constantly remember that it has to evolve day by day, minute to minute." But she remains hopeful: "Ultimately," she says, "we're going to have a site that is practical and simple, easy to navigate, and beautiful to look at. Its not there yet."