Today we’d like to introduce you to Ime Umoh.
Hi Ime, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a Nigerian-American Licensed Drone Pilot and Creative Professional born and raised in Baltimore, MD. Baltimore played such an impactful role in my life as a student-athlete, career professional, and now business owner. Growing up in Essex, MD, I had a unique perspective of the world as I spent many winters visiting my home in Akwa-Ibom, Nigeria.
Looking back, I’m grateful for my father making the investment to ensure that we got to different parts of the world and embrace different cultures. It really helped me to understand the importance of perspective and how beautiful life could be when you explore and are exposed to different walks of life.
Growing up, I remember albums and albums of family photo books. I’d see pictures of my siblings and I as babies and VHS videos of us traveling to Nigeria for the first time. I always cherished the memories of traveling, but I always cherished the feelings of being able to look back and to see how far we’ve all come.
After graduating from UMBC in 2012, I started my professional career as a Project Manager working for a small firm in Columbia, MD. I had a successful professional career as a Project Manager and eventually moved to Seattle, WA, where I would end up working for Expedia, Inc. as a Senior Project Manager in Finance. I’ve always been keen on pushing myself towards bigger challenges, and in 2017, I moved to Silicon Valley to join Facebook (now Meta). It was during this time that I finally realized that there was more that life had to offer outside of my professional career. I was always driven by my curiosity, so in 2018, I took a leap of faith, handed in my resignation to travel the world.
I didn’t have any elaborate plan, only to finally experience what owning my days felt like. After packing up my apartment in storage, I flew to LA, and then set off on a journey that would eventually change my life.
Before leaving, I invested in a $200 camera and a drone to help me share my stories online. I’d plan to stop in Nigeria, South Africa and then venture onto Hong Kong, Thailand, and Bali, Indonesia, before returning in May 2019 to figure out what exactly was next.
As a Project Manager, I’d always been keen to having a plan, but this experience taught me that sometimes, you’ve gotta just “push the button” and go!
The more I traveled the more I shared my photography and videos online, and eventually, I’d start to get calls from travel brands and non-profits to create marketing assets to help build their brand awareness and online presence. It was a sweet deal at the time because I found a way to get my travel compensated to create content – a win-win!
With my creative skillset now validated by the demand, I knew it was time to start an official business, and in May of 2019, Push the Button, Creative Studio (www.ptbutton.com) was born. Our goal was (and will always be) to help purpose-driven brands, and non-profits show their impact through high-quality storytelling.
Since 2019, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with brands like Coca-Cola, Major League Soccer, and Beats by Dre, in U.K., U.S., and Lagos, Nigeria, and opportunities to work with nonprofits like Okodwela, The Star Wright Foundation, Let Girls Read, Run and Grow and the Global Air Drone Academy in places like Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ghana, and Zambia. In 2022, I was nominated by Travel Noire as ‘Best Travel Photographer’, and earlier this year, I was featured in Skydio’s Blog for my work around storytelling and aerial cinematography. While the accolades are great milestones, I realize that none of this would be possible if I hadn’t taken that leap.
As I always say, the best is yet to come, and as a Creative Professional, there’s never been a better time to be a creator. And for businesses, it’s never been a better time to show up online through video! I’m looking forward to all that is to come and allowing drones, storytelling, and travel to lead the way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Creative Entrepreneurship is full of up and downs. I’ve learned a lot about running a business, but I’ve also learned a lot about self. Earlier on in my career as a Travel Photographer, I was excited just to be able to travel and to be able to do what I loved. When I started to sit back and think about the value that I brought companies through my creative work, I started to understand the true value of creating digital assets. It became less about creating photos and videos and more about creating digital assets, media that would actually increase in value over time and enhance a brands’ image over time.
Articulating my value to clients was a huge challenge, and I had to learn to focus less on the equipment and types of cameras and focus more on the problems being solved through my creative skillset. When I started to focus more on the problems that businesses were trying to solve through photo & video, I found it much easier to get clients to look at content creation as an investment and not an expense.
We’ve been impressed with Push the Button, Creative Studio, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Push the Button is a Creative Studio that helps purpose-driven brands and nonprofits create high-quality, professional-looking videos that reflect their brand identity and values.
– Brand Story Videos – For small-to-mid-sized businesses, a Brand Story Video is the ultimate video asset. In just 2-3 minutes, it captures the essence of who you are, your unique story, and what sets you apart from the competition. Whether you’re looking to boost sales, save time, or strengthen your connection with customers, a Brand Story Video is the perfect way to achieve your business goals.
– Aerial Video & Photography – We offer high-quality aerial video and photography services to capture stunning, unique perspectives of your location or event. Using state-of-the-art drone technology, we can capture breathtaking footage from above, providing a unique and visually impressive way to showcase your business or project. Our team is fully licensed and insured, so you can trust that your aerial video and photography needs are in good hands.
– Creative Direction – We offer creative direction services to help businesses bring their ideas to life. At Push the Button, we turn your ideas into a strategic, creative plans that are not only visually appealing, but also achieve your business goals. Our creative direction services provide value by ensuring that your ideas are effectively communicated and executed, leading to success for your brand.
– We focus on solving business problems through digital media and lead with collaboration.
– We’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world, create meaningful content for our partners, but our biggest measurement of success lies in the lives we’re able to impact. We focus on purpose-driven initiatives because we believe that the ability to enhance one’s perspective through storytelling can result in powerful impacts.
– Our mission is to make an impact through meaningful storytelling. We strive to provide our clients with story-driven content that not only engages their audience but also creates a lasting impression of their brand that will remain in people’s minds long after they have finished
– We want our readers to know that we balance creativity, process, and collaboration. WE are passionate about creating content that truly makes an impact and goes beyond the traditional marketing message. We believe in harnessing the power of storytelling to share stories, evoke emotions, and inspire real-world action. Our goal is to create meaningful experiences for our clients that drive their business forward and help them reach their goals.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
It would definitely have to be going to Nigeria for the first time. We’d typically go during Winter Break to celebrate the holidays with friends and family. But going home to Nigeria allowed me to understand, truly, who I was and where I’d come from.
Back in the United States, I was always reminded how different I was. Whether it was my unique name or that fact that I was one of the only black kids that played soccer or my “unique” school lunches my dad would make (haha). But when I went home, to Nigeria, to my village, Ikot Udo Esang, it was always a place where I felt home.
Looking back, I realized knowing where I’m from, being able to go back and touch the soil, to call a place home was incredibly important to me. At the same time, being raised in Baltimore, making friends here, attending schools like Calvert Hall and UMBC, I’m proud to call both Nigeria and Baltimore home.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ptbutton.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imeumoh_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ime.ptbutton
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imeumoh/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/imeumoh_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ImeUmoh/
- Other: www.imeumoh.com
Image Credits
Ime Umoh
