All businesses ultimately focus on the bottom line. Afterall, if your business is not profitable, you won't be in operation for long.

Along with a profitable bottom line, having a business with positive cash flow, setting the right price for your products and managing costs are other areas that contribute to the success of a business.

Let's briefly have a look at each of these areas mentioned above.

Pricing

When setting prices, factor in making a profit. This ensures you stand a good chance of being in the black at the end of each month.

It also inadvertently lets you know your business costs, because in coming up with a profitable price, you get to know what you are spending your money on and how much you are spending.

Managing costs

There are many aspects of a business that contributes to the overall cost. One of these areas affects businesses that hold inventory.

If your business has inventory, you need to ensure you do not hold too much, as inventory ties up cash, which in turn affects cash flow. 

There is something else that can be added to measure the success of a business. It is something that on the face of it doesn't bring in any money; its value though is immeasurable.

What is it?

Helping others!

Helping others is a factor to include when measuring the success of a business.

Finding a way to give to others is something all businesses should do.

Why?

Have you heard, the saying the more you give, the more you will receive?

What you get back may be in the form of goodwill in your community, name recognition, building relationships, increased revenue or just the satisfaction you have been able to help someone else in some way.

The most apparent reason to give is to get your business name out there. Giving and helping others is a way to promote your business.

Sponsoring local sporting teams, donating to local schools, hospitals, providing a service at no charge are all ways to help others as a business.

Doing any of these things helps build relationships with new and existing customers, as well as other business owners in your niche. These are potentially people you can turn to at a later date when you have questions to ask directly to your customers or by using other business owners as a sounding board.

Doing all these things may cost your business money, but the benefits you receive could far outweigh the cost.

There are different ways businesses can help others, and they fall into two broad categories of money and time.

Money

Businesses can give cash as a way to help. For instance, if the local sporting team needs new uniforms, a business can offer to pay for the new uniforms so long as their logo is prominently displayed on the uniform.

Excess inventory can also be donated to local charities as a way of helping others in the local community.

Also offering to provide a needed service, such as printing flyers at minimal cost or even free is another way to help others.

Time

If your business can’t afford to fund these types of activities, giving your time and your employees time in the form of volunteering is one way a cost-conscious business can help others.

An example of volunteering your time could be by being a time-keeper at a local fun run, reading to children at school or visiting sick people in a hospital.

You can also give by doing mundane things like answering questions people ask in places like Facebook groups, Quora and Reddit.

Whichever method you choose to use to help others as a business, remember to check with your accountant to see if any of these activities can reduce your business tax rate.