Meg Cadoux Hirshberg

Freelance writer, columnist

By Holly Davis, Staff

Meg Cadoux Hirshberg doesn’t own her own business, but she knows an awful lot about being an entrepreneur.

Hirshberg, of Concord, is a successful freelance writer. Her work has been featured in magazines such as Inc., Yankee, Boston Globe Magazine and New Hampshire Magazine, among others, as well as a number of assorted newspapers.

Her business expertise, however, comes from her experience being married to Gary Hirshberg, founder and CEO of Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry.

She worked in the business for many years, but even when she didn’t, Hirshberg still lived it.

“I rode those ups and downs for many years when we didn’t make a profit,” she said. “Even though it wasn’t my business, those were my realities also.”

Hirshberg will be a special guest speaker at ” The Entrepreneurial Spirit: Stories of Success,” an event hosted by the Women’s Business Center on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Southern NH University in Manchester.

She will share her insights about developing her own successful career, as well as the challenges of being married to an equally successful entrepreneur.

Hirshberg took what she learned through the business and turned it into a feature for Inc. magazine. The article received such a huge response from readers that Inc. decided to make it a regular column.

In the column, Hirshberg talks about work/life balance issues. In the first installment, she tackled the biggest question of all: Are you in or out? Meaning, when you’re the spouse of an entrepreneur, you have to make the important decision of whether you are in or out of the business.

“The topic of risk is a huge one. One person may be a risk-taker, and it’s usually the entrepreneur,” she said. “Risk terrified me.”

Other columns have focused on such issues as living with a Blackberry addict, the ups and downs of having family and friends as investors, and how there never seems to be a right time to buy a house, have children and more when you’re in an entrepreneurial situation.

In addition to her freelance work, Hirshberg has also written two yogurt cookbooks, including “The Stonyfield Farm Yogurt Cookbook.” She said she loves to cook in her spare time, especially with yogurt.

Hirshberg also said she loves to garden and bike. The family has a summer home in Holderness, where she said they do a lot of hiking as well.

The couple has two boys, ages 21 and 19, and a daughter, 17.

As the spouse of an entrepreneur, Hirshberg said the most important thing is transparency. Have open discussions with your spouse about what is going on.

“I think that doesn’t happen a lot. Entrepreneurs tend to keep distresses and concerns inside,” she said. “Step back and look at your goals together, not just as one person who owns a business.”

Entrepreneurs also tend to put things off, Hirshberg said. They think only as soon as they meet sales projections or hire that person or make a profit can they buy the house, get the dog or have the kids.

If she could offer one piece of advice, it would be to get rid of those perceptions.

“It’s important to remember that life goes on,” she said. “While building a business, don’t put your life on hold.”