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Feeling that your company is too small? Feeling that you’re missing out on profits? It happens in all business big or small. But since you’re a small business owner, you don’t have much to worry compared to “big guys”. You have your company intact and your stock price (if any) doesn’t ebb and flow pending on board changes, product launches and product failures. Here’s a shortlist of the most recent losers on the tech stock market for 2013. Now they experience their own share of rises and falls, yet their profits are still high. Nonetheless, this is always a great reference to the small business owner to make them feel better for their situation.

Yahoo: Although the future looks bright under former Google executive, Marissa Mayer, Yahoo is still feeling plenty of hurt from losing market share to Google. Under Mayer’s leadership, they moved steps forwar with the company redesign several of its current properties like Flickr and the recent purchase the highly populated blogging site, Tumblr. Yet, they experienced a sharp drop in July as highly regarded member of directors, Dan Loeb, stepped down. As stated they are competing with Google with their core market as a search engine and ad platform. With all the changes and being a perennial runner-up to Google, it may take some time for Yahoo to recover.

Microsoft: The all-time flag bearer for the digital revolution with Apple has experienced its own setbacks over the recent years. With the less than lukewarm receptions to its operating systems from Vista, to 7 and now to 8, Microsoft have been reeling from that backlash. Added to that, their entry into the tablet market, the Surface has not been meeting expectations, competing at the same level as their Apple and Android counterparts. As a stock, Microsoft has been experiencing a rally in April, where the stock moved up from the mid 20’s to it’s position in the mid 30’s. It held strong there until a sharp drop of 4 points last week. In that time, trading volume increased by four times its normal daily volume. This was an indication that a lot of traders were selling rather than buying.

Big names like Intel, EBay and IBM are feeling the pinch themselves as their trends show a drop. Though not as sharp and as significant as the aforementioned Yahoo and Microsoft, it is trending and steadily dropping. For all intents and purposes, the companies mentioned today will surely find a way to get back. They have the best people in charge (Mayer) and they are taking the steps to improve their execution (Microsoft’s reshuffling of their directors). As a small business owner, you don’t have to take the measures that these companies do. But keep in mind, small changes can benefit or harm you in many ways. It’s good for a small business owner to keep an eye on these companies and what their next move is in their times of crisis.

Image credit: Alan O’Rourke on Flickr