Everyone hits a difficult point in their startup. It may be that you are trying to bootstrap your idea in your spare time. Or perhaps you are battling a difficult issue and need to get it resolved and move on. Whatever the case, there is some great advice being written up regarding these issues. Here is a short list of my recent favorites.

In a recent discussion with a friend and fellow entrepreneur, we discussed how startup founders need persistence. Persistence is usually the trait most associated with successful businesses that struggled through difficult times and came out ahead. After further discussion, we realized it takes more than just persistence - it takes a love of your idea above all else.

Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, and Chris Anderson have been talking quite a bit about “free” and what it means. Chris contends that anything that is strictly made of “ideas” will push toward a lower cost until it is free. This may be because competitors try to outdo one another through price wars until things become free, or people will choose not to pay for ideas at all (e.g. getting your news via free websites rather than paid newspapers). Find out what you can learn from those using this technique to build a business.