Margaret Josephs, widely recognized for her role on the hit franchise the Real Housewives of New Jersey of NJ since 2017, has authored a book. It's called Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget: How to Survive in Business and Life. If you're in the New York tri-state area, she's doing a book signing on March 9th at Bookends in Ridgewood NJ.
I had the honor of getting to know the author, mother and savvy entrepreneur behind the housewife title. Though there's a lot of drama on the housewives, Margaret did not get to where she is without being no-nonsense, sharp and hardworking. She's built a business empire with her brands Macbeth Collection, Candie Couture, House Candie and her Margaret Josephs clothing line. One doesn't accomplish this without a lot of blood, sweat and tears. For anyone that's built a business, it's not like it's portrayed on TV. It's correspondence and research and numbers and connections and all kinds of things that take dedication and inspiration to get through. It's a constant "push" one needs every day to succeed.
Margaret has that "push" inside of her. And it's not just helped her to build the business but it's helped her to navigate the obstacles in her life. She talks about this openly and honestly, and in her "Jersey tell -it like-it-is way" in her book. Her book is part memoir, part roadmap. It's chock full of inspiration.
The press release states, "CAVIAR DREAMS, TUNA FISH BUDGET takes readers along Margaret’s wild, bumpy journey to entrepreneurial success and reality TV fame, written in her trademark no-nonsense, tongue-in-cheek voice with the perfect combination of grit and glitz."
The full video interview is on The LIBBY SHOW: Lunch with the Ladies Channel on Youtube. You can visit and subscribe with this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eznPAqQk0l8
Or Watch Here:
There's so much more to learn about Margaret Josephs on the complete video interview, but, here's a glimpse of what we spoke about:
On Why She Wrote Caviar Dream, Tuna Fish Budget: How To Succeed in Business and Life
"So many people see my persona as a cast member of RHONJ and they don't delve into my life before I was on television. Being on TV was the second part of my life.
I had a big life prior to getting a role on there. I was a stepmother, got married very young, started my own business (pitfalls as well), grew a very big business, made money, lost money, been through so many things, raised a family, got divorced... So there are so many things that women go through that we don't discuss and that we have shame about, or navigated...I grew up with a single mother in the 70's which was not common- so there are so many parts of my life people don't know... that it was important to get it out there."
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| Margaret Josephs, author and RHONJ. Get to know her in Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget. And listen to her podcast of the same name |
On Having a Mentor and Being One
"I think it's super important, because when I started my business there was no social media. I mean, we were sending things to editors, looking them up in the backs of magazines. So I had a mentor, an amazing woman, Vicky. I write about her in my book. I realize, it's so important to have someone to teach you the ropes to guide you. There's enough room for everybody. If someone else shines, it doesn't take away your sparkle.
And it's important for me to be around young women and teach them the ropes. And to lift them up. I love to see them shine. It's very important to lift each other up.
I want young women to learn from my mistakes, and I love to see them shine. We have to teach women not to be threatened by one another. "
On Balancing Being a Mom and A Business Owner
"You can have it all, but not at the same time. Something has to give.
Being a mom was the most important thing to me when I was younger. When I was married to my first husband, I became a stepmother to three beautiful kids, we had full custody, and we had a son together.
So being a mother was very important to me, but being a mother, that wasn't my identity. My identity couldn't be just a mother and a wife. I needed the creativity and to use my brain in a different way. I couldn't be a good mother or good to anyone else if I wasn't personally fulfilled.
It was a juggle and a struggle. I always made sure I did things with the kids.. PTA... school trips... but on the weekends, there were travel, trade shows... There were times I missed things with my kids, and it was painful, but was worth it in the end. I needed to keep my identity.
I built something when my children were young.. and I could continue it once they were out of the house. But what makes me so proud today is that my son says, "I'm so proud of you, so proud of the hustle."
On How She Overcame an Unusual Childhood
"I give a lot of credit, even with all the insanity around me, and the instability, the one thing I did have, that I knew I had from my mother was a lot of love. A lot of love makes up for a lot of crazy. And it really does. It gives you a sense of being and a sense of security that you need.
My mother always told me I could be anything I wanted to be, she never squashed my dreams."
On Her Advice to Parents
"As I always say to moms and dads, don't be so hard on yourself, because you know it is easy to screw your kids up and lot of mayhem goes on, but children need to feel loved. I think that makes up for a lot, and it gave me the inner strength to go on."
On the Situation in Ukraine as a Hungarian
"My mom is like having PTSD. She came after the 1956 Hungarian uprising. It's terrible, we can't believe what's going on."
On Seeking Therapy
"I am a big proponent of therapy and dealing with things head on. People always frown upon taking care of your mental health. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. After everything we've been through, the pandemic, the world and what's going on, the war, people are really suffering and depression affects your physicality.
My mental health has suffered, I've been through a divorce, had horrible things happen in my life. I hope on that very quickly. If there's an issue, I'm on my phone with my therapist and there is no shame in that because it's so important to take care of your mental health.
There's shouldn't be a stigma around it... I think it's made me more resilient."
Lightning Round
Favorite "Down the Shore" Hangout when you were young
Seaside
Favorite Beach Now
Mantoloking, Cape May
Mantoloking, Cape May
Favorite Jersey Mall
The Shops at Riverside
First Play Your Mom Took You to See in The City
Evita
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| Watch the full interview March 18th on The LIBBY Show: Lunch with the Ladies on Youtube |
Shows You Are Binging
Yellowstone, Ozark, just finished Succession, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
I just started watching Inventing Anna
And I watch my show!
Favorite Movies
Gladiator
Gladiator
Casino - I love the costumes
I like to see all the Oscar-Nominated films. I love watching the Academy Awards
Favorite Hungarian Food
Chicken Paprikash
Langos
Do you still Watch Soaps?
No, but I used to watch All My Children and General Hospital. My grandma learned some English from AMC. I think the show (Housewiv es) is like the modern day soap opera.
Shameless Plugs
Read my book
Watch my show The Real Housewives of NJ on Bravo
Listen to my podcast
Read the special chapter in the paperback version where I interviewed my mom.
For More On Margaret Josephs