Nurture Your Zest Podcast, Feat: Doug Dinwiddie
Doug Dinwiddie is the founder and managing director of White Digital. With humble beginnings starting the business from his bedroom as a side project, to growing a team of 20+ staff and well over 500 clients.
He sits down for a chat with Ashleigh King, host of Nurture Your Zest podcast to talk about growing up in Scotland, his passion for golf and how it supports men’s mental health, his favourite books and how White Digital plans to give back and are set to raise £30,000 for charity! The episode was recorded at a new creative studio, Flamingo Heights, which specialises in podcasting run by Ashleigh King, in the Ouseburn Valley.
Early life and the start of White Digital
Born in Dumfries, Doug’s Scottish roots are something that he’s incredibly proud of. He’s admitted to being a bit of a cheeky chap in school, but stood out because of his surname, admitting that he’s never met anyone outside of his family with the Dinwiddie name!
Moving to the North East at age 6, he’s now lost his Scottish accent (something he’s secretly devastated about) but you’ll occasionally hear the odd twang if you’re lucky!
Doug has always had a passion for entrepreneurship, starting the business in the bedroom of his shared accommodation, whilst working as a Golf Caddy on the Golf European Tour, which he worked on for 10 years.
He’s never been work shy, using the difference in time zones on the tour to his advantage. Working in cities like Dubai allowed Doug to technically fit two working days into one, caddying in the morning and then selling websites back to businesses in the UK in the afternoon when they’re just starting their working day.
In 2018, Doug found that White Digital had become successful enough to support his lifestyle and was growing at a rapid rate. This is when Doug left his career in golf caddying behind, to concentrate fully on White Digital.
Golfing for good
There’s no doubt that Doug is absolutely golf mad. Aside from his 10 years spent as a Golf Caddy on the Golf European Tour, golfing was embedded in him from a very young age by his family, who were all keen golfers, particularly his brother who is now a professional. Doug received his first set of golf clubs at the young age of 4 and it’s been an obsession ever since.
Doug explains that golfing is an endlessly fascinating game, often described as “a great metaphor for life”.
“You can hit a really good shot and it can end up in a really bad spot, and you have to learn how to overcome that. You’ve got to get things together to make a better shot next time and that might not go right, so you have to keep plugging away”
In a business sense, Doug also thinks that you can really get to know someone over a game of golf. From how people react to something bad happening to them, if they cheat so they can look like a winner, or on the flip side, are they really great company and an enjoyable person to spend time with. It’s incredible for networking too, as it allows you to spend a long period of time with someone.
On a personal level, Doug believes that getting out in nature and playing golf is brilliant for men’s mental health and breaking the stigma of men talking about mental health problems. He finds that a lot of golfers use meditation and practising being present in the moment as a way to manage any stresses in life.
Giving back
Giving back to communities is something that Doug is incredibly passionate about. White Digital are regularly involved with charities and their events and have pledged to raise a huge £30,000 in 2022 for 3 charities; Darlington Foundation Trust (CDDFT), COCO and Maia Mouse Foundation.
As giving back goes, Doug describes his core philosophy as “the world is a value provision”.
Admitting that when he first started White Digital, his main priority was to make money, but soon learned that the best definition for money is that it’s a store of value.
Doug describes this perfectly as “If you want more money from the world, you need to provide more value to the world. As long as you’re focusing on how you contribute value to the world, the money coming back the other way will sort itself out.”
It’s been key that as White Digital, we learn exactly how we can add value to the world to those that need it most.
An exciting future
Doug spills the beans whilst talking to Ashleigh – White Digital are working Ashleigh and the Flamingo Heights team to start their very own podcast – The Cellar Room Sessions, in our very own in-house studio.
As explained by Ashleigh, “Sharing stories is what brings people together” and this is exactly what we plan to do. With Doug’s vast network of acquaintances and clients that are doing amazing and interesting things, it’s a way to share this and continue adding value to the world.
White Digital are working with Ashleigh and the Flamingo Heights team to start their own podcast – The Cellar Room Sessions, in our very own in-house studio.
Keep an eye out for The Cellar Room Sessions, coming soon!
Listen to the whole episode here:
