Business ventures women started with lottery winnings

You would think winning the lotto means you are financially secure for life. However, it’s not always the case. A quick look at the fate of some past lottery winners shows that not being used to the wealth often means they do not know how to handle a huge fortune, and there are many who have lost it all within a few years. The savvy ones take advice from financial planners, and one of the most popular ways of investing part of their windfall is to buy properties for renting out.

There are others who want to start the business they have always dreamed of, but never had the necessary funds. Many of them are very successful. Buying pubs and cafes, sometimes local to them, is often a way for these newly rich people to venture into business.

Business successes for female winners

There will always be business failures, but it would be surprising if any of them make the same mistakes as some of the most famous business blunders of the past, like Ronald Wayne, co-founder of Apple, who sold 10% of his shares for $800 just a few weeks after the business was launched, or Alitalia Airlines which advertised $3,900-worth business-class tickets for just $39.

There have been many women who have started a business with part of their lottery winnings, and for them it has been a dream come true. For example, a single mom working as a hairdresser, and struggling to make ends meet, won $1.2 million. She admits that her first thought was to be lavish and spend, but she reconsidered. She was in a long-distance relationship with a pig farmer and successfully invested in a pig farm instead. 

There has been a luxury cake business set up as part of a £1.9 million ($2.53 million) win. A beautician who felt her employers had unfairly treated her for years started her own beauty salon in competition with them, after winning just over £2 million ($2.68 million). Both of these businesses have thrived and been successful.

Some women have used part of their winnings to set up charitable foundations. This does not mean they just give a lump sum and leave it to others. They are often very involved, particularly in promoting the foundation to bring more funds in. It can be just like running a business, but with the profits being used for good causes.

There are many other women lottery winners who have started successful businesses, and they tend to have one thing in common: they take advice from the experts before investing their money. Talking to accountants and other financial professionals can help to ensure they do not make any errors along the way.

Are women more successful than men when they have won the lottery?

Establishing if women are more successful than men after winning the lottery is hard to judge. Many of the biggest wins have been to couples, and of the men on their own that have won, they are likely to make similar choices to females. They’ll either blow it or invest it wisely. You’re either cautious or not, regardless of gender.