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Martha Stewart, the homemaking media maven with a reputation as a canny businesswoman, may sell the company that bears her name.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has lost money for seven of the last eight years and — despite the star decorator's resuscitation of her career following a 2004 stint in prison  — the company, which had revenues of $231 million in 2010, reported a net loss of $10 million.

Analysts say there are many causes for the company’s woes.

"One thing obviously was the economy," said Robert Routh, executive director of equity research at Phoenix Partners Group in New York. "When the economy rolled over that impacted any business like this because it’s so dependent on the consumer in terms of eyeballs for the publishing and the broadcasting."

Legal Troubles

Also a factor in the company's poor performance could be the remaining taint of the federal trial that sent Stewart to jail in 2004. She was acquitted on charges of trading on inside information, but served five months on a lesser charge: obstruction of justice.

Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia more than tripled in value while she was in prison, possibly as a result of all the publicity.

Not long after being freed, Stewart settled separate charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and was banned from her own board for five years. Investors began to lose confidence.

"There were certain people that decided they didn’t want to own the stock, didn't want to be involved with it," said Routh.

Selling Product

Over the next several years, Martha Stewart rebuilt her reputation with appearances on TV, and with Martha Stewart-branded products available at K-mart.

But the 10-year deal with K-mart was a mixed blessing. Under the terms of the contract, the company was paid handsomely whether it hit sales targets or not (it often didn’t). But it also hindered Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's possibilities for growth.

"That deal really restricted the company's ability to enter into new markets and to develop certain products and deploy them as they would want to," Routh said, adding that newer agreements with Petsmart and Home Depot are showing promise.

A Time of Change

Last year, the Kmart deal came to an and. Stewart's SEC ban is ending as well, and Stewart is preparing to rejoin her board. In May, the company hired the Blackstone Group, an investment and advisory firm that helps distressed companies find buyers.

Stewart owns about half of the company's stock (and 90 percent of the voting shares), but speaking on CNBC last week, she was coy about how she’d respond to an offer.

"It depends," Stewart said. "Everything depends on what it is. We are a valuable company."

Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia jumped after new of Blackstone’s hiring broke, but some investors remain wary.

"I've looked at Martha Stewart Omnimedia since they've been public [in 1999], and I can just never bring myself to buy it," said Malcolm Polley, President and Chief Investment Advisor at Stewart Capital Partners in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

The problem? He doesn't believe the business could survive if it lost its founder, for any reason.

"Without Martha Stewart, you really don't have a company," Polley said.

Nevertheless, Stewart’s magazines, books and baking pans can be found in millions of American homes, and consumers continue to place trust in her brand.

Last Sunday, Peter Krauss emerged from a Home Depot in Manhattan with two cans of medium gray Martha Stewart paint in hand.

"I'm doing some interior painting and the color that we liked was her color," Krauss said. "I've used her products before. They work well, they behave well. Plus I like all her colors."

Analysts say, if she wants to fetch a good price for her company, Stewart, who is 69 years old, will have to commit to remaining its public face.