SD BUSINESS MANAGEMENT – GLASGOW GIVING
“When you’re in a people-oriented business, your clients are never surprised to learn that you care about people.” That’s the rock-solid reasoning of Stephen Docherty – the SD behind SD Business Management in Glasgow – when he was asked about the company’s involvement with B1G1 as a business partner.
“Generally we are a people business, and as Chartered Accountants, in many ways, our business involves helping clients enhance their lifestyle. We reduce their monetary hassles and lower their stress levels by organizing and working to improve their financial affairs. We are involved in B1G1 because we want to make a difference to others, not just our clients…although it does reflect our ethos well as an added bonus.”
A keen cyclist and fundraiser, Stephen spends a lot of his spare time raising money and supporting a number of charitable causes, so ‘giving back’ is nothing new to him, nor to his team of financial wizards. The company has just moved into their new office in the Baltic Chambers building on Wellington Street, and they were still unpacking when we met up with them.
“We got involved in B1G1 because it seemed really powerful way to make a difference in the world,” Stephen told us. “There are thousands of small businesses around the world and even if only 10% of them got involved, it could make a significant difference. At the same time, it also really reflects what we are about.”
Their contributions go to a wide variety of worthy causes, but mostly to water, health-boosting treatments, child blindness, and similar causes. One team member gets to choose each month where the giving goes. SD Business Management gives ‘across the board’ too, because each team member is passionate about different things.
“When a client signs up with us for their annual services, or even if they just want a single ‘one-off’ service, we send them a Thank You letter for doing business with us, along with a B1G1 Certificate of Gratitude,” Stephen added.
The feedback they get from clients about B1G1 giving is mostly the indirect kind. “I think that’s because the giving program reflects who we are, and clients take it in stride that’s what we’re about. We all like to give to others, and more so to people who are less fortunate than us, and B1G1 makes that so easy.”
Henry Ford used to say: “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking”. That quote accurately reflects how Stephen and the team feel about giving, too.