Meg grew up outside New York City and graduated from Brown University with a degree in Comparative Literature. After college she moved to California to work on an organic farm. For three years she ran a science education garden for elementary school children. Her interest in organic growing led her to get a Master’s degree from Cornell Agriculture School, after which she was hired to manage a large organic vegetable operation in New Jersey.
Eventually Meg moved to New Hampshire and married Gary Hirshberg, founder and current President and CEO of Stonyfield Yogurt, whom she’d met at an organic farming conference. Meg worked in the business for several years, in sales and yogurt production. Stonyfield took nine painful years to reach profitability, and now, with about $350 million in sales, it is the largest organic yogurt company in the world.
After Meg stopped working in the business, she wrote two yogurt cookbooks, and launched a career in freelance nonfiction feature writing for magazines, including Yankee, New Hampshire Magazine, and The Boston Globe Magazine. Currently Meg is a regular columnist for Inc. Magazine. Her column, “Balancing Acts”, focuses on work/life balance issues in an entrepreneurial setting, a subject she also addresses in speaking appearances. Meg enjoys gardening, going for long walks and teaching nonfiction writing at a community college. Meg and Gary have three children.
For families of entrepreneurs, the issue of leisure time is often a flash point. Spouses can usually reconcile themselves to the time demands a business makes on the entrepreneur. Work is necessary. But leisure pursuits are a matter of choice. Or are they? Read the Inc. Magazine article here.
An entrepreneurial business sucks the entire family into its vortex. For better or for worse, your children are deeply involved in your business. Marinating in guilt is an opportunity lost. Read the Inc. Magazine article here.
