Remember when Flickr was the hot platform for photo-sharing on the web? All of a sudden, the market has moved to mobile, and Flickr is less relevant -- and is showing signs of being eclipsed by a startup, Instagram, that is the platform of choice for sending photos from an iPhone. It always happens like this -- a company is super-hot, its founders basking in millions of equity dollars -- and before you know it some kids come along and beat them senseless.

Most of us would be happy to be Flickr for a hot second -- they're not exactly on the Internet garbage heap. But big or small, companies seem to make mistakes that threaten their survival. What are the signs that your business might be nearing a fall?

1. When you're Number One, everyone's gunning for you: If you're the market leader, you're in everyone's sights. You may be enjoying leading market share and excellent profits. It's just at this point that you should be really worried. You should be thinking, "If I were someone else trying to kill me off, what would I do? What product would I be creating?" Then, go create that product.
2. When your growth stops, there's usually only one direction to go: For most businesses, the top line is the bottom line. If your sales are growing at least as fast, if not faster, than the competitions', you're doing well. But if sales plateau and you're surprised, watch out. Unless you're in a cyclical or seasonal business, if you hit that blip and your business stalls, you need to know why and immediately correct your course. It's not enough, by the way, to try to make up a decline in unit sales with higher prices. You can play that game for a little while, but customers will wise up fast.

1. When your costs are rising faster than your revenue: Many small businesses get into a bad habit when things start going their way. They start spending more money on "stuff." When times are good, you certainly do want to invest in productive capital equipment and on talent acquisition that can provide incremental revenue. Too many businesses add staff that are duplicative of the people they already have, rather than additive to the value of the business. As you grow, look for people with different skills than the people you have today.
2. Cutting corners on invisible things that matter: Times are tough and you're looking to reduce costs. You look for items that the customer doesn't see. How about your liability insurance. Maybe you can decrease the amount of coverage, or increase your deductible to the highest possible amount? Maybe you can pay a little bit less than the market rate for new hires. Perhaps you can outsource back-office functions. But be careful. Every cost-cutting move has a risk management dimension. Can you survive the worst-case scenario for any expense management strategy you undertake?