We were lucky to catch up with Ese Ofurhie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ese, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The mission of ENSPIRE is to highlight the positive things people are doing for themselves or the community in order to encourage and enlighten others. When I started ENSPIRE I was working full-time at a New York City hospital. It was my first corporate job out of college so I felt like this was it. We were taught you go to college, get your degree and get that good corporate job. I was excited but the job stressed me out in a way I never experienced. I had managers that knew less than I did about the job and were belittling in referencing my performance. It literally depressed me because I knew this job was going to help pay my bills but I did not even want to physically get up to go to a place where I did not feel good or of substance. At the time I also shared a cubicle with a high school classmate and we ended up working in the same department. It was from that depressing experience of knowing we cannot quit and have to continue to work here because what else were we going to do? It was from that we were seeking something to help take away the depression of the job. We caught reality tv, but it was so negative and we knew that would not help. It was from that that we created a magazine that would only highlight the positive stories, stories of struggles to success, and anything about overcoming obstacles. We chose this to be the foundation because we knew how we felt when we heard someone else’s story. Whenever I heard someone level up after a bad situation it gave me hope and to also actually know someone that has made a bad situation better makes it more real. Which means I can do it too. It did something to me to continue to hear people succeed. It was from that feeling that ENSPIRE was created. We came up with Enlightening Newsworthy Subjects Providing Inspiration and Real Entertainment. This way it can be a lifestyle publication that covered people and organizations of all industries and genres. We could literally find something positive out of anything and that was the goal.

I had to rebrand in 2018 because my partners no longer wanted to continue (another story about partnership and accountability). It was from creating ENSPIRE that I could grow into the woman I am today. It has helped me develop how I handle situations, how I want to be known and the type of positive affirmations and behaviors I wanted o put out in the world. It only happened because of ENSPIRE.

Ese, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a first-generation Nigerian born in the Bronx, NY. I have my BS in Management Information Systems from Alabama A&M University (proud HBCU graduate) and MBA in Business Technology Management, but there was no thought of becoming an editor. I had to teach myself the ins and out of running a publication and the media industry. I have always loved entertainment since I was young. I would come home from high school and watch music videos and on the weekends I was glued to WPIX watching movies. You could say I had an obsession with entertainment which helped me transition into starting my magazine.

I taught myself by researching, networking, attending relevant events, and just putting myself out there to get things wrong so I could figure it out. Through creating this magazine I joined an NYC program to mentor high school students in NYC. Since 2017 I have been mentoring them in the aspects of media that I have been using to create ENSPIRE. I also include life skills and motivation for them as that is what ENSPIRE has done for me. I have also been able to offer certain creative services to people I have met along my journey including PR, event management, content creation, proofreading, and copywriting. I also guide or assist individuals looking to start their own businesses.

I am most proud of how I have been able to consistently step outside of my comfort zone to learn new things. I am proud of my passion for storytelling and guiding/mentoring the youth. I am proud that I have created something positive that can impact people’s lives. There are moments where I can’t believe I went from watching award shows on television to attending them for ENSPIRE Magazine. Creating ENSPIRE has allowed me to take part and understand in several sides of entertainment, media, communication, writing, and mentorship. I have used my educational background and experience in creating a magazine to help other business professionals, educators, small business owners, and those in media/entertainment communicate messaging, create bios, strategize their marketing, and parts of branding.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I did a lot of research prior to starting my magazine. I had to understand what others had to know about the brand and what it stood for. Professionals in the media industry needed to know about ENSPIRE, professionals in other industries needed to know about ENSPIRE, and the youth needed to know about ENSPIRE. I knew I had to get the word out about the brand. However, born and raised in the Bronx, I had this mentality that if I don’t know you I am not talking to you. I was also used to hanging out with friends and went nowhere alone. I knew in order for me to get the word out about the brand; I had to change that attitude and get out there and let people know about ENSPIRE. I started researching professional meetups and events that I could attend. I would research the type of professionals and industry prior to registering. I would attend each meetup by myself and have the intention to meet 5 people, tell them about the magazine, and exchange information. That was me stepping outside my comfort zone and changing to do what was necessary. I knew I had to be genuine when talking to people and have something of substance to say. I did not want to be that person who just talked to talk; I wanted others to feel my passion for what I was doing. I knew what I was speaking about was positive and understood it may not make sense or relate to some, but it may to others. Once I connected with those individuals on the betterment of society, creating a space for positive stories, and uplifting others. With that, I could engage with industry professionals who would refer me to other events, and so on and so on. I used networking to build the reputation of ENSPIRE Magazine within the media industry. I would learn to be put on press or media lists and apply to organizations or brands’ websites so the email will be on file. I went from networking events to fundraisers, galas, award ceremonies, and award shows. Within a few years, I would get invited to events outside of New York and that allowed me to build the brand in other markets. I covered events like the BET Awards, Essence Festival, Art Basel, and Miami swim week. I started out in the New York market, then Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Miami.

Being able to spread the word about the magazine led others to want me to do similar to their brand. It opened up an opportunity for me to do other things but was sort of an extension of what I already knew to do. Working with other brands encouraged cross-promotion and the attention of others. This helped my personal reputation which aligned with that of ENSPIRE Magazine.

I also understood the importance of publicists in my industry. Outside of research, they were gatekeepers to people and events that align with the mission of the magazine. I built relationships with them as they would play a part in bringing attention to the magazine by featuring their clients or talking about their events. Knowing the people in your industry that make sense to collaborate with, and who make sense to your brand. Building and maintaining relationships has helped the reputation of ENSPIRE Magazine.

Any advice for managing a team?

The best advice I can give for managing a team and maintaining high morale is, to be honest with them at all times. Be very clear with their purpose as it relates to what you as a manager are doing. I manage a team of high school, college, and professional interns/assistants. I tell them my backstory why and how I started the brand to let them know who they are working for. I explain what the brand is about because it needs to relate to the person they are and their career interests. I use my previous work experience on how I felt working for others. My story and purpose usually motivate them for creating the brand and encourage them to be a part of my program created for interns and writers. From there I acknowledge their growth and points of progress. There will be moments of mistakes but all it takes is an explanation and an opportunity to do better. This happens on both ends and I make sure to be transparent with them on that as well. This structure has helped me manage my team.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.enspiremag.com, www.enspirellc.com
• Instagram: @es2dabest, @enspiremagazine
• Facebook: @EseOfurhie @ENSPIREMagazine
• Linkedin: @EseOfurhie @ENSPIREMagazine
• Twitter: @EseOfurhie @ENSPIREMagazine
• Youtube: ENSPIRE Magazine

Image Credits
Headshot from Grow With Google.