A healthy body demands routine checks and examinations. So does a healthy, thriving business. No matter what stage your business is in, you must check its systems, pay attention to any ailments and prevent early death.

For the newborn business, the goals and system checks are relatively simple. Merely staying alive and maintaining your sanity is a measure of success at this point in development. Systems are very limited in the start-up stage because there are usually a handful of people (if that) trying to get capital, find more customers and deliver a quality product. Three common causes of mortality at this stage are: Atrophy — all capital and funds are dried up; Neglect — the marketplace does not take to the product or service as well as predicted; Stress — the business owner cannot take the pressures of running a business anymore and sells the business or closes.