Over the past two weeks we’ve been asking you what the best ways are for young entrepreneurs to raise money.

The goal here is to create a list of suggestions for new and existing entrepreneurs to refer to so they can effectively fund their business ideas.

We’ve created a Forum Topic to allow you to express your opinions.

We’ve had some great posts created and a lively discussion is going on.

So far the top responses are:

#1) Friends

#2) Your Own Savings

#3) Family

#4) Angel Investors

#5) Venture Capitalists

#6) Licensing Your Idea

#7) Reverse Mergers

#8) Private Placements

#9) Banks

Are friends really the #1 way to raise money for a young entrepreneur? How have you raised money for your business or how do you plan on doing so? Weigh in on the discussion by having your say on our forum post. Please share your advice so other young entrepreneurs can learn from your thoughts and experiences.

After the success of our last poll on The Top 20 Startup Mistakes that entrepreneurs make, we’re ready to get our new poll started!

This time I want to talk about raising money. It’s been said that there is no such thing as a startup with too much money. You need capital to invest in sales, marketing, staff, offices, research, etc.

Every business needs some startup capital so my question to you is what’s the best way to raise money?

I’ve created a new post in our forums where you can vote. Please take the time to share your thoughts and experiences as the results will help other entrepreneurs become successful in building their businesses.

To cast your vote and get involved in the discussion, click here.

After polling our Young Entrepreneur readers, here is our list of the top 20 mistakes that startups make when creating a new business. I’ve also included a few of the comments that were left for some of the top points.

#1: Not Having a Clear Plan or Vision

“Having started a dozen businesses over the past couple decades, the one that motivated me was vision. If you cannot have a vision of where you want to be in ten years, twenty, or however many, then you will not succeed. This comes along with a basic business plan, but in that plan, don’t just think now, but think as far down the road as possible.”

“The biggest mistake people make is not looking far enough ahead in your market. So many businesses are losing ground to new technologies as example, so think ahead on how to better utilize these new technologies. With the current recession, how many planned for it? Every business will go through cycles of growth and market demize, just as we are all now seeing, so again, think ahead, have vision beyond today is one of the keys to success.”

“I think it is because of lack of planning and focus on what you are doing.”

#2: Surrounding Yourself With People Who Don’t Believe In Your Idea

“Another mistake would be surrounding yourselves with people (whether by accident or because they’re family, etc) who don’t believe in your idea. You need to be around positive feedback all the time.”

“Yeah, I totally believe surrounding yourself in people who dont believe you will succeed is bad. Especially when they bag out your idea, without actually giving their opinion. I have alot of people who with my current start up like that, so I choose not to speak with them. It makes you more determined I guess too.”

“Letting the negativity of those around you bring you down and “steal your dream”.”

“Also, (the) people that surround you affect your decision, so be wise and careful.”

#3: Not Having Enough Money

“I think this is big for those businesses that have the incentive to only reap the benefits and not focus on the longevity of your venture. Taking out $10k now may prevent making $100k in a few months. Mindsets should not be “Yeah I own a buiness I make this much” but rather “Yeah I own a business, we invested in XYZ and were able to afford this new service/expand here/etc” Also, too many people plan on the basic expenses of starting up, and don’t think about the increased expense that come with a more successful, growing, developing business.”

“In my personal experiences, I didnt look enough into the current market for my idea just see what is already out there, and underestimating the amount of capital needed to start the business.”

#4: Doing It All Alone

“Lots of CEO personalities think they have to be the answer to all problems, and this is not the case. Their pride and mindset of “I must live up to this role” is skewed and they may fail to tap the most important and valuable resources that surround them in their management team and affiliates.”

“Trying to do it all by yourself and not asking for help is also one of the reason why people find it hard to start a business. I mean, you can always have skilled people working for you for costs that is right on the budget. You just have to have the proper resources and people and your business will be up and running in no time.”

#5: Not Seeking Mentors

“I think having a mentor - a much more experienced entrepreneur that can give you some valuable advice is so IMPORTANT…especially when you are a young and overly ambitious… and with so many challenges to meet on the way to success.”

“Having a mentor is extremely important since my mentor advised me that creating a successful business will take a lot of time, effort, patience, dedication, and a clear plan and vision.”

#6: Losing Momentum

“Being satisfied and content with functioning can lead to “big headedness” and false hope that it will always be this way. You need to constantly improve your product/service, research your around-the-clock changing market and competition, and promote innovation and forward progress amongst your management and team.”

#7: Not Marketing Your Business / Expecting People To Come To You

“A few mistakes that I personally made was the lack of focus on a targeted marketing plan, and the miscalculation on future expected growth.”

#8: Not Looking At Your Competition

“I think it is a big mistake to start a business without really understand the market.”

#9: Being Overly Enthusiastic and Not Having Realistic Goals

“A few mistakes that I personally made was the lack of focus on a targeted marketing plan, and the miscalculation on future expected growth.”

#10: Not Thinking Survival

“Too many people think that so long as everything is done “textbook” and they have the proper set up, and plans down on paper, that they will succeed. Also, many people have the idea that it is easy to keep it up after they get an initial consumer base. Not true. small businesses are small fish in a big pond, constantly competing against emerging and growing bigger competitors that have the backing, both monetarily and resourcefully, to push them out of the picture.”

#11: Doing It Just For The Money

“If you want guaranteed income, go out and apply for a job, do your day to day task, and collect the check. Many times people try and look for the most lucrative, profitable idea that they can score an easy amount of money in so they can “live the dream”. A true Entrepreneur lives the dream by constantly growing and changing to address their market and benefit those who use their product/service. You need to cover costs and have the right to strive for wealth, sure, but that will NEVER come unless you sacrifice first and realize that the longevity and future potential for your business to weather the conditions presented from changing needs and business priorities, is first and foremost, or else you have simply wasted your time and effort to have your 15min and now are snuffed out thereafter.”

The remaining 9 common startup mistakes are:

• Not hiring right away
• Getting to year 1, past year 2
• Not getting involved in the community
• Working in your business instead of on it
• Going wide instead of deep into a niche
• Not using email marketing
• Having a lack of ambition
• Failing to network with others
• Growing too quickly

I hope you enjoyed our list and can use some of the advice to make sure you don’t fall into the same traps that others have. If you can learn from those who have gone before you then your chances of making it big will increase dramatically!

Stay tuned to the blog for our upcoming polls!

We’ve started collecting a list of the top mistakes that start-up entrepreneurs make so that you can hopefully avoid making them yourself.

To cast your vote and add to the list you can check out the forum post we created on the topic here. We would love to see what you think!

Here are the results so far. The top four that made the list are:

1. Not having enough money
2. Trying to do it all alone
3. Not seeking mentors
4. Not having a business plan

Other start-up mistakes that have made the list are:

• Not hiring right away
• Getting to year 1, past year 2
• Not getting involved in the community
• Surrounding yourself with people who don’t believe in your success
• Working in your business instead of on it
• Not thinking survival
• Losing momentum
• Doing it just for the money
• Going wide instead of deep into your niche
• Building sites but not driving traffic to them
• Not using email marketing
• Expecting that customers will come to you
• Over enthusiasm and unrealistic goals
• Failure to carry out your plan

What makes your list of top start-up mistakes? Once again, we’ve created a new post in the YE Forums and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! To cast your vote click here.

After the success of our last poll, Top The 21 Celebrity Entrepreneurs, I wanted to start a new poll on the top mistakes that start-up business owners make.

We did our own list in February on the Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneur Make which included:

1) Not enough money.

2) Not thinking survival.

3) Losing momentum.

4) Doing it all alone.

5) Not hiring right away.

6. Doing it just for the money.

7. Getting to year 1, past year 2.

8. Don’t build around a customer.

9. Don’t seek mentors.

10. Don’t get involved in the community.

It was a popular post that made the front page of Digg and got 78 comments!

What makes your list of top start-up mistakes? We’ve created a new post in the YE Forums and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! To cast your vote click here.

According to YoungEntrepreneur.com readers, here are the Top 21 Celebrity Entrepreneurs:

#1 - Richard Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. Branson’s first successful business venture was at age 15, when he published a magazine called Student. He then set up a record mail-order business in 1970. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores and rebranded as zavvi in late 2007. With his flamboyant and competitive style, Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s - as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label.

To learn more about Richard Branson check out the 5 part series we did on him last year:

• Lessons From Richard Branson - Part 1 - How to Identify an Opportunity
• Lessons From Richard Branson - Part 2 - Don’t Do It For The Money
• Lessons From Richard Branson - Part 3 - Focus On The Business
• Lessons From Richard Branson - Part 4 - Build A Solid Team
• Lessons From Richard Branson - Part 5 - Create A Brand

# 2 - Simon Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an Emmy-nominated English artist and repertoire (”A&R”) executive for Sony BMG in the United Kingdom and a television producer, more commonly known as a judge on television programmes such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco.

#3 - Bill Gates (born 28 October 1955) is an American entrepreneur, software executive, philanthropist and chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft he has held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and he remains the largest individual shareholder with more than 9 percent of the common stock. For more information see our July post on Bill Gates: Are You Ready To Jump Off The Cliff?

#4 - Donald Trump (born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York, New York, United States) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, television and radio personality and author. He is the CEO of Trump Organization, an American-based real estate developer, and the founder of Trump Entertainment, which operates several casinos. He received a great deal of publicity following the success of his reality television show, The Apprentice (in which he serves as both executive producer and host for the show). He is the son of Fred Trump who was a wealthy real estate developer based in New York City.

#5 - Jay-Z - Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969) better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper and former president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. In addition, he co-owns The 40/40 Club and the New Jersey Nets NBA team. He is one of the most financially successful hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. Known for his flow and blending of street and popular style, he can compose lyrics without the use of pen and paper. His critically acclaimed album The Blueprint was allegedly written in only two days. After announcing his retirement from recording music in 2003, he returned in late 2006 with the album Kingdom Come which sold 680,000 copies in its first week, Jay-Z’s highest-selling album in a one-week period.

Here is the rest of the list from #6 to 21:

#6 - Warren Buffet
#7 - Ted Turner
#8 - Mary Kate and Ashley
#9 - Morgan Freeman
#10 - Robert Redford
#11 - Prince

#12 - Steve Jobs
#13 - Oprah Winfrey
#14 - Michael Dell
#15 - Sean Combs

#16 - Simon Fuller
#17 - 50 cent
#18 - Robert Kiyosaki
#19 - Robert Allen
#20 - Gene Simmons

#21 - Paul Newman

We created a poll at YoungEntrepreneur to determine who is the top celebrity entrepreneur. There has been much discussion as to American Idol’s Simon Cowell and whether he deserves to top the list as an entrepreneur.

So far the top vote getters are Simon Cowell, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, and Richard Branson.

Here is how Wikipedia introduces our top four:

Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an Emmy-nominated English artist and repertoire (”A&R”) executive for Sony BMG in the United Kingdom and a television producer, more commonly known as a judge on television programmes such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco.

William Henry Gates III (born 28 October 1955) is an American entrepreneur, software executive, philanthropist and chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft he has held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and he remains the largest individual shareholder with more than 9 percent of the common stock.

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York, New York, United States) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, television and radio personality and author. He is the CEO of Trump Organization, an American-based real estate developer, and the founder of Trump Entertainment, which operates several casinos. He received a great deal of publicity following the success of his reality television show, The Apprentice (in which he serves as both executive producer and host for the show). He is the son of Fred Trump who was a wealthy real estate developer based in New York City.

Richard Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. Branson’s first successful business venture was at age 15, when he published a magazine called Student. He then set up a record mail-order business in 1970. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores and rebranded as zavvi in late 2007. With his flamboyant and competitive style, Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s - as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label.Honorable mention so far in the poll goes to:

• Warren Buffet
• Ted Turner
• Mary Kate and Ashley
• Morgan Freeman
• Robert Redford
• Prince
• Steve Jobs
• Oprah Winfrey
• Michael Dell
• Jay-Z
• Sean Combs
• Simon Fuller
• 50 cent
• Robert Kiyosaki
• Robert Allen
• Gene Simmons

Do you have a favorite celebrity entrepreneur? Vote for them in our poll to help us determine who is the top celebrity entrepreneur!

Well the results are in from our poll last week on why young entrepreneurs decide to go into business for themselves.

The most popular answer, with over 82% of the votes was “To see your dream come true.”

Tied for second with almost 53% of the votes were “To be your own boss” and “To do what interests you.”

Rounding out the top five were “To make more money” with 47% of the votes and “To be creative” with 29% of the votes.

The least popular answers were “To set your own deadlines” (17%), “It’s easy to startup” (17%), “To learn new skills” (11%), “To have a second career” (5%), and “To cut the commute” (5%).

The YE Blog Poll will be a regular series in the coming months to explore how young entrepreneurs feel on a variety of topics.

For our next YE Blog Poll we’re interested to learn who you think are the top celebrity entrepreneurs? To cast your vote, click here.

We’re interested in hearing your opinions at the YoungEntrepreneur.com blog to better understand the trends that today’s young entrepreneurs are facing.

In this week’s poll we’d like to know why did you start your business?

The options are:

To vote in the poll please visit the YoungEntrepreneur.com forums by clicking here.

Stay tuned next week for the results!