Most Innovarive Small Busines of 2013

10 of the Most Innovative Small Businesses of 2013 Daniel Bukszpan - CNBC8 Jun 2013 No matter how far the marketplace advances, there will always be problems that plague consumers and that no company can seem to solve. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because it creates a niche for the right company to fill. For example, motorists experience considerable straining when cleaning their windshields from the inside. So the makers of the Windshield Wonder saw an opportunity to address an unaddressed problem, a successful product was born, and the rest is history. Small businesses can experience great success and expand their operations when they find innovative solutions to common problems. Often, it can mean cultivating a loyal and much-needed customer base, which any small business needs in order to sustain itself and grow. What follows is a list of 10 innovative small businesses that are making their mark this year with inventive products. Read ahead to see what they are. Yardarm Technologies image credit: Yardarm Technologies Gun legislation has always been a front-and-center topic in the U.S., but it reached a fever pitch in the months following the tragic events in Aurora, Colo. and Newtown, Conn. But while politicians have been trying without success to find a solution, Yardarm Technologies has come up with a high-tech idea--a wireless controller that allows gun owners to disable a weapon remotely. If a gun is moved, an alarm is triggered on the owner's phone, and he or she can then disable the weapon remotely. An Associated Press report said that the technology would cost gun owners an extra $50 per weapon, while the service itself would carry a $12 annual fee. Systems and Materials Research Consultancy image credit: SMRC 3-D printing is a technology that fabricates objects based on a digital model. It made headlines in 2012 when a company called Defense Distributed created the world's first 3-D-printed gun, but Systems and Materials Research Consultancy is currently researching ways to use it to fabricate food. NASA awarded the Austin, Texas-based company a Small Business Innovation Research grant of $125,000to develop food to be printed for space missions. Senior mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor said that the technology could someday be used to address world hunger.