The Goals:

• Build a magazine brand that could positively impact her community

The Approach:

• Launch a quarterly magazine and partner with her local Small Business Association to kickstart an internship program
• Lean on free Google tools like AdSense to earn ad revenue, Analytics to learn about their audience, Gmail to stay in touch remotely, and Docs and Meet to get things done

The Results:

• Hired a team of 12 interns and help them develop digital job skills
• 9.7% increase in site visits over last 90 days

Entrepreneur Ese Ofurhie is a Bronx, New York native of Nigerian descent who has made a name for herself in media. Ese launched Enspire Magazine in 2012, a publication created to help inspire the world with enlightening and entertaining content. Ese launched her “experienceship” to help give college-aged students experience in the media space and a chance to learn new skills.

Ese Ofurhie is building her brand and sharing job skills with youth in her New York City community

Burnt out from her corporate job in 2012, Ese Ofurhie decided she wanted to see more positivity and motivation in the world. So she got together with a high school friend who happened to work in the same cubicle and developed the idea for ENSPIRE Magazine, which she eventually decided to take on independently. “When I first started ENSPIRE Magazine, I truly did not know the full scope of what I wanted to accomplish,” she says, “but I knew I wanted to motivate people and encourage them to do better for themselves.”

From the beginning, Ese envisioned ENSPIRE’s impact growing beyond just a magazine, and made it happen. “I partnered with my local Small Business Association,” she says, “first in Queens and then in the Bronx, mentoring 18-21 year-olds who weren’t in school and looking for job skills. We got everyone set up with an office space and area to work; it’s been incredible. I ended up working with students at the same community center that I used to go to after school growing up.” The young adults that Ese mentored even encouraged her to become a substitute teacher in New York.

Through her work with New York City mentorship programs, Ese has been able to expand her “experienceship,” as she calls it, to college students across the country, helping them bolster their resumes by developing digital skills like social media management, editorial, marketing, and website development. Her team uses Google tools like AdSense to earn ad revenue, Google Analytics to learn about their audience, Gmail to stay in touch remotely, Docs and Meet to get things done as a team. “We turned to Google’s free tools because they're proven to help small businesses, as we continue to grow I know we can lean on Google for support.”

Using Google Analytics, Ese and her team have been able to understand which content resonates most with users and drives visits. “Over the last 90 days we’ve been able to increase viewership by about 10% and with continued optimization, we’re seeing more improvements. Even in the past week we’ve had a 64.5% increase in site visits. This data plays a vital role in understanding how we can improve our content,” Ese shares.

This summer, Ese and her team of 12 interns are gearing up to launch her new issue and keep creating content that readers love. “People’s voices are so important,” she says, “and I’m grateful that I get to bring those positive and encouraging voices to life with ENSPIRE Magazine.”