"When you start any business, you have to be prepared to work harder than you ever have before," with Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin

Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, a seventh-generation descendant of shipping and railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, is an American singer, composer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.

In 2010, Consuelo founded her record label C&R Productions and her first four singles landed her in the Top 20 on the Billboard Dance Charts. Consuelo’s debut single “Naked” spent 16 weeks on the charts, while her follow-up “Feel So Alive” earned her Billboard’s #2 Breakout Artist honor. Her latest hit “Body Needs” broke Billboard’s Top 5.

Since her musical career took off, Consuelo has toured across the globe, sharing stages with Vanessa Carlton, Mya, and Tweet, earning recognition within the dance world, which took her from cafés in Italy to London’s Royal Alert Hall, New York’s Central Park and some of the most legendary clubs on Hollywood’s famed Sunset Strip.

While on tour in Germany, she came across the need of a backup dancer and unfortunately had nowhere to turn to, to hire someone. Realizing this, she came up with the idea for SohoMuse, a membership-based networking platform built for creative professionals to promote their talent and projects, while also allowing creatives to collaborate with each other, find talent, and more, across the globe.

Since SohoMuse’s launch in 2017, Consuelo has been leading the charge of bridging the gap between entertainment and technology. Over the last three years, the platform has garnered thousands of memberships from globally renowned designers, artists, musicians, and directors to dancers, makeup artists, and more – who have collaborated through the platform to work on projects ranging from New York and London Fashion Week experiences to television and film productions, photoshoots and more.

Recently, the platform has grown to offer various membership tiers that coincide with the needs of creatives. In 2020, due to COVID-19, SohoMuse launched its Virtual Entertainment Series, where artists can exclusively Livestream performances in front of the SohoMuse community, as well as its 3D Spaces and Environments, where brands can customize virtual spaces to Livestream events, host conferences, and more.

Carving her own path through her ventures in music and business, Consuelo has been featured in Vogue, Town & Country, 25A, Prestige, PAPER, and Raine Magazine for her many accomplishments. She currently resides in New York City with her husband.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I was born in New York and moved to L.A when I was just two years old. My family then relocated to London, where I lived for most of my childhood. I got involved in gymnastics early on, practicing and training 4-5 days a week, which instilled in me a discipline and work ethic that have been vital to my life and career.  When I left gymnastics, I completely switched paths and joined the choir.  I later studied at a rock opera school in Italy and began performing in cafes and restaurants around Florence. I signed my first record deal in London at twenty-one and, when I wasn’t in the studio recording, I was writing songs or on the road as part of a German rock band. 

Fast-forward to 2010, which was a pivotal moment in my life.  I was living in L.A. and I finally took control of my music career and launched my own record label, C&R Productions.  Meanwhile, a well-known DJ remixed one of my songs into a dance-pop track, which spun me into an unexpected direction, and my first four singles made the Top 20 on the Billboard Dance Charts. It was a tremendous honor and recognition from fans around the world was an incredible feeling.  Most importantly, it taught me a valuable lesson in keeping an open mind and not being afraid to take risks and try new things.  

What inspired you to start your business?

I’ve always been an entrepreneur as well as an artist.  Aside from my record label, I’ve had the opportunity to launch a jewelry collection on HSN and, in 2017, I launched SohoMuse, a social networking platform for creative professionals.  The idea came from my London days writing and recording and working crazy hours in the studio,  One night I came home late from a recording session, starved for inspiration and collaboration, and I imagined what a world it would be if a painter was inspired by a musician, who was inspired by a dancer and so on.  I asked myself, how could all of these creatives, from totally different fields in the industry, come together in one place? Where creative professionals could connect and collaborate with each other, expand their networks, showcase their portfolios, search for jobs and so much more.  The idea was later cemented when I was touring and needed to replace a dancer within 24 hours, but I was in Germany without a trusted network.  I can definitely say SohoMuse was born out of necessity. 

Where is your business based?

We are based in New York City, Los Angeles, and London, but of course, our SohoMuse members are based all around the world.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I took my idea for SohoMuse to a brilliant marketing strategist I knew named Umi McGuckin.  She loved the idea and began to map out how we could turn this very big idea into reality.  Umi and I partnered up and approached my first manager, who ultimately became our first investor. We went through a few iterations of the site, shifting and adapting as demands changed and new technologies emerged before we launched our Beta in 2017.  From there, SohoMuse took off and has grown into this incredibly nurturing and inspiring global community of talented filmmakers, visual artists, fashion designers, dancers, musicians, and virtually every kind of creative you can imagine. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

We launched our Beta with 100 ambassadors from various creative disciplines, each of whom invited other creative professionals from their personal networks to join the site.  We’ve seen a lot of organic growth in awareness through our members, by collaborating with one another on everything from international fashion shows and editorial shoots, to producing events, feature films and finding real job opportunities.  Those success stories really speak for themselves. 

My team and I also continually promote our members through the site and our social media channels and ensure that what we’re offering on the platform is relevant to today’s culture.  Not just in our newsfeed, but by creating valuable content and providing opportunities for our members.  We recently held a virtual event series for the Black Lives Matter movement, which provided artists, thought leaders, musicians, and activists a safe, open, and inclusive environment where their voices could truly be heard, as they spoke on a variety of sensitive subjects around the movement. As we continue to grow our platform and bring new opportunities to our members, our awareness will continue to flourish.

How do you stay focused?

I am constantly thinking about ways we can improve and grow, and continue to create channels to connect creatives through SohoMuse.  I love brainstorming and collaborating with my colleagues, peers, and fellow creatives and it’s their boundless energy and innovative ideas that keep me focused on “what’s next.” 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges we faced has been the rapidly changing technology.  You can set out building a platform with a certain code base and a variety of different technologies powering your features, and half of those things could be obsolete by the time you’ve built the prototype.  Staying on top of those changes and keeping a finger on the pulse of the next generation tech, while remaining nimble enough to adapt, has been absolutely vital to overcoming these challenges.  I’ve been lucky enough to find an extraordinary team of dedicated and talented individuals who have worked tirelessly and evolved right along with me to help to create and realize my vision for SohoMuse.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Built by Creatives for Creatives, SohoMuse is really the first creative vertical social network of its kind.  Both a community and a portfolio platform, our invitation-only website provides a secure, trusted ecosystem for creative professionals.  They can promote their talents and their projects globally, find real career opportunities, collaborate with one another, and expand their networks without borders.  No other site does what we are doing or offers the level of professional tools and features we offer to our members. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Working with universities and summer programs has been very effective for growth.  The positive response from institutions and students alike was so overwhelming and led us to launch SohoMuse World, a dedicated arena for student and up and coming talent.  They have the opportunity for exposure to and even mentorship from our core membership of creative professionals.  

Of course, the pandemic hit shortly after our LA launch in February, so we shifted our focus to doing what we could to help our members, many of whom lost their jobs, had tours canceled and watched productions get shut down all over the world.  We launched SohoMuse: A Virtual Entertainment Series (SAVES) and provided an online stage for our artists to perform and generate revenue.  While this wasn’t our primary goal by any means, it created significant growth and exposure for SohoMuse by introducing us to a very broad audience of our members’ fans and, in turn, expanded our database exponentially.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

My best piece of advice is don’t give up and don’t be afraid to take chances. When you start any business, you have to be prepared to work harder than you ever have before, but in the end, it’s the satisfaction of pursuing your dreams, win or lose, that is worth all of the blood, sweat, and tears.  If you believe in your idea, find exceptional people who will align with your vision.  Trust your instincts, but be open to others’ thoughts and opinions, as it gives you the ability to expand your ideas and continue to grow and learn.  

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

I love the Calm app and the name says it all!  I’m more into podcasts than blogs, and my favorite right now is Lebron James’s ‘Kneading Dough’, which helps get me pumped up and fuels my drive and determination.  My favorite book right now is called The Secret: It’s All Coming Back to Me, and it’s been amazing and really inspiring to me. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

My favorite tool right now is Smartsheets, as it allows us to track a lot of our day-to-day work and enables us to do that work remotely and share with the team in real-time. The most helpful resource my internal team uses to stay connected is Slack because it allows you to upload larger files and documents then email does and it allows for greater ease with communication.

How do you balance work and life?

I don’t (laughs). I think I need to do much better at that. You get lost in work, but when you have a vision and a dream, you want to make it happen.  SohoMuse is a global site with strategic partners in various countries, so I’m working in multiple time zones and my hours are far from normal.  That said, I do make great efforts to spend some time with my husband, my family and friends, and my little Pomeranian, Bugsy Malone.  That’s ultimately what keeps me sane in the midst of all the chaos. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

At the start of each day, I like to realign my mind, body, and soul. I spend most mornings at the gym to stay physically fit and I meditate to find my inner power and block out my own pre-conceived notions.  This way, I can really decompress, focus on what needs to be completed, and tackle the day with clarity.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

What don’t I have planned? So much! We have complete programs in the works for universities and students across the country to showcase their art.  We recently launched a direct-to-consumer marketplace within SohoMuse, where artists and members can sell their work directly to buyers, and we are working to expand and make that more robust.  We also look forward to expanding the global reach of SohoMuse and providing more job opportunities as the world reopens.

How can our readers connect with you?

@consuelo_vanderbilt_costin on Instagram, @consuelocostin on Twitter, @sohomuse_inc on Instagram and on www.sohomuse.com