How to Build Businesses That Serve More Than Just Shareholders

By Rebecca Sutherland, Investor, and CEO and founder of HarbarSix Ltd

When most people picture business success, they imagine stock prices climbing, dividends flowing, and investors smiling. That’s fine, making money is part of the deal. But the strongest, most resilient companies understand that profit is the outcome of doing more than just feeding shareholders. They serve employees, customers, communities, and the planet too.

And here’s the secret: when you build a company like that, shareholders win in the long run anyway.

I’ve been around enough boardrooms and coffee-shop startups to see the difference between leaders chasing the next quarter’s numbers and those building something that lasts decades. The latter have one thing in common: they treat every stakeholder as a partner in the business, not just the people who own stock.

Start with the real reason your business exists

If your “mission” is a sentence that could be copied and pasted into any company’s About page, it’s a red flag. “We strive to provide value to our customers” might sound harmless, but it doesn’t tell anyone what you stand for.

The companies that serve more than shareholders have a mission that’s specific, human, and easy to picture in action. Patagonia doesn’t just sell outdoor gear. They “build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” That clarity makes it obvious who they’re serving and why.

Before you worry about quarterly targets, decide why your company deserves to exist in the first place. Write it down in plain language. Say it out loud to a friend. If they can’t picture what you mean, keep refining.

Treat employees like core investors

Employees are the people investing their time, skills, and energy in you every day. If they’re disengaged, underpaid, or invisible, your business won’t survive much past its next earnings report.

Serving employees doesn’t mean ping-pong tables or ‘fun Fridays’. It means fair pay, growth opportunities, respect, and transparency. It means not hiding bad news until it’s too late. It means listening to their ideas before you hire consultants to tell you what your own staff already knows.

When employees feel ownership, not necessarily in stock, but in purpose, they naturally take better care of customers and the work itself.

See customers as more than transactions

Serving customers isn’t about saying “the customer is always right.” Sometimes they’re not. But it is about taking responsibility for the relationship beyond the sale.

Companies that serve customers well listen more than they pitch. They make the buying experience easy and the support experience human. They remember that customers have lives, frustrations, and goals beyond their interaction with you. And they don’t hide behind policies when a little empathy could solve the problem.

Make your community part of your business plan

Even a purely online company affects the real world somewhere, through hiring, supply chains, or environmental impact. If you ignore your community, you’re building on shaky ground.

“Community” here means both the people physically around you and the networks you touch. It might be the town where you operate, the industry you influence, or the cause you champion.

Serving your community could mean sourcing locally when possible, supporting local schools, or opening your space for public use. It could mean advocating for fair industry practices, not just because they’re good PR, but because they’re the right thing to do.

Balance profit with long-term health

Here’s where many leaders stumble: they think “serving more than shareholders” means lowering profit. It doesn’t. It means avoiding the trap of maximising short-term profit at the expense of everything else.

A company that squeezes suppliers until they can’t breathe will eventually run out of good suppliers. A company that underpays staff will eventually run out of good staff. The short-term numbers might look great, but you’re eroding the very foundation of the business.

Healthy profit comes from creating genuine value for all your stakeholders and making sure the benefits are shared fairly. That doesn’t mean everyone gets an equal slice, it means no one feels like the only one going hungry while others feast.

Build accountability into the company structure

Intentions are nice, but without accountability, they fade. Decide how you’ll measure your impact beyond revenue and net income. That could mean tracking employee retention, customer satisfaction, environmental footprint, or community engagement.

Publish those numbers, even when they’re not flattering. Share them with your team. Let your stakeholders see you’re serious about more than the bottom line. This isn’t about virtue signalling it’s about staying honest with yourself.

Serving more than shareholders isn’t charity. It’s strategy. Companies that look after all their stakeholders weather downturns better, attract more loyal customers, and keep talented people longer. Shareholders benefit most when they’re not the only ones benefiting.

If you build your business like a long-term relationship, with honesty, fairness, and genuine care for everyone involved, you won’t have to choose between doing good and doing well. You’ll find they’re the same path.