When did you start your business?
I dropped my first podcast episode in 2022, to a very modest audience and learned the very confronting lesson that the size of your audience doesn’t reflect the importance of your message. As I interviewed new guests and got them to tell me their stories of survival (after receiving blood transfusion or products), I found more clarity in my vision for what the Milkshakes for Marleigh had the capacity to achieve.

I am currently mid way through the fourth season of The Milkshakes for Marleigh podcast and this year I released The Milkshakes for Marleigh book which which tells extraordinary tales of survival thanks to Australian blood donors. It became an instant Amazon #1 Bestseller!

What was the inspiration behind your work/business?
My initial inspiration for my blood donation advocacy came when our 3-year-old daughter became unwell with Autoimmune Encephalitis. This is a condition life threatening condition, which has no cure, however treatment is possible with Intravenous Immunoglobulin infusion (IVIG), made from donated human plasma. For Marleigh, this is lifesaving when she relapses and life preserving for every infusion in between. At her sickest we were only able to extend Marleigh’s life for 10 days at a time with this treatment. Spacing the treatment out further resulted in life threatening Status Epilecticus seizures, the longest of which lasted 39hours.

During this time, I became aware of persistent critical blood shortages in Australia. My husband and I had always been sporadic blood donors, but our daughters’ life depended on the kindness of anonymous strangers to keep her alive. Marleigh is now eight and has lived five bonus years thanks to Australian blood donors.

What are you most excited about in your work/business?
Through the release of the Milkshakes for Marleigh book this year I have met so many people from all around the globe and no matter where I am speaking the sentiment is broadly the same. Everyone agrees that donating blood is a good thing to do but every just assumes that someone else is doing it! People don’t realise that 1 in 3 people will need blood in their lifetime and this in Australia only 1 in 30 people donate blood, supply simply doesn’t meet demand, resulting in Australia purchasing blood from overseas suppliers to meet demand. People also don’t realise that blood can’t be made. If you need blood and none had been donated in your type, you will die and no amount of optimism bias can save your life!

The most exciting this about Milkshakes for Marleigh is its growth internationally and the lifesaving impact that is having by encouraging blood donation all over the world. In Australia, I can meaure that impact by the people who are inspired by Marleigh’s story and make a blood donation to the Milkshakes for Marleigh Lifeblood team. This donors have saved over 8000 lives in the last 3 years.

What has been the most challenging thing about starting your work/business?
Building a brand that people could trust had been the key to the success of Milkshakes for Marleigh because as the creator, host and producer of the podcast, and the author of the book, I am the gatekeeper of so many peoples stories. Sometimes this is told by loved ones of the blood reciopient has passed away of if they are a child. When I had a tiny social media following and only a handful of podcast episodes published, it was a very big ask to get people (especially those with a public profile) to trust me with their stories.

I also am largely a “one woman show”! My husband, Geoff does the audio production for the podcast but I have no communications, writing, social media or podcasting background so all that I have achieved is self taught. This means I have made a lot of very expensive mistakes!!! But when my frustration peaks and I question my resolve, I reflect back on the fact that I started this work as I never want another family standing in a hospital room terrified that not enough people have donated the blood that their loved one needs to save their life.

What advice would you give to other women thinking about starting a work/business?
When The Milkshakes for Marleigh Book became a #1 Bestseller a few months later I won the AusMumpreneur Author; Podcast and Women Changing the World of the Year Awards for 2024, so many people ask me for advice on the next steps for their business or advocacy movement. Should the start a podcast? Write a book? Scale up, down or internationally? My best advice is to look at the big picture of what you want your venture to achieve and ensure that the activities of your business all support that core purpose.

The key thing that has allowed Milkshakes for Marleigh to succeed it that I have very clear boundaries around my time and unapologetically put my family first. This has meant some extruciating decisions around having to step away from opportunities (for example, the Women Chaning the World Summit in New York, 2024), but I knew that I wouldn’t be giving the best of myself when I had competing priorities.

Why did you enter the Women Changing the World Awards?
In 2023, I was a the only Australian finalist in the Women Changing the World, Emerging Woman of the Year category and was thrilled to win Bronze. Travelling from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia to attend the Women Changing the World Summit and Awards in London really helped to shape my global perspective on the potential for the impact of my work.

As a previous award winner, I was thrilled to be named as a finalist in 2024 in the Women in Literature, Women Making a Difference, Social Enterprise and the Duchess of York’s Unsung Hero Awards, while I did not place in these categories I was the Gold Award winner for Women Changing the World Global Impact Award: Non-Profit category. This award recognised the global impact of my blood donation advocacy through Milkshakes for Marleigh.

What did you enjoy the most about being part of the awards?
Travelling to London for the Women Changing the World Summit and Awards in consecutive years meant that in 2024 I got to catch up with so many of the #WCW2023 cohort that I had met the year before. I was astounding to hear what these incredible women had achieved in their businesses or their own areas of advocacy in the 12 months since I had seen them last! These woman are fierce advocates so truly deserving of recognition on a global stage.

My favourite part this year was being a guest speaker at the Women Changing the World Summit. To share the story of our daughters reliance on blood donations to survive and the explain the precarious nature of the blood supply around the world to a global audience was such an honour and a privilege.

What surprised you most about the awards?
What surprised me the most in while I was in the United Kingdom (apart from the beauty of the Summit & Awards venure which felt like spending the weekend in a storybook!!!) was how much the Summit & Awards had grown from the year before. I loved meeting new Australians travelling to the event for the first time and well as hearing stories from all corners of the globe! This was very evident on the eve of the Summit when I was involved in the panel discussion and launch of the Women Making a Difference book that I co-authored. Sitting on stage with women from Australia, USA, Zimbabwe, France and an audience of women from all over the world was so humbling.

I was so relieved that although the event has grown, it has not lost its sense of community. Although there is awards, I did not experience any competitiveness and or unkindness that I’ve previously experiences in all-female environments. I think all of the women there are representing their communities or projects that they are doing to make the world a better place for those around them and that changes the interactions.

How did the awards help you in your work/business?
I included a book tour as an element of trip to London and loved sharing the Milkshakes for Marleigh book with international communities. I also attended The Podcast Show which is the biggest podcasting conference and event anywhere in the world (I was so lucky the events were only days apart!) and that resulted in some really productive discussions with BBC Sounds, IheartRadio and Spotify about possible future directions for The Milkshakes for Marleigh Podcast. At this event, I also learned that James Corden is a Milkshakes for Marleigh fan and was lucky enough to have him spot my book cover and invite me to the green room to have discussions with podcasting giant SiriusXM. Discussions about a potential expansion are ongoing…..

The Woman Changing the World Summit and Awards have helped me to elevate my worker to a broader international audience. This exposure has solidified me as a global leading voice in blood donation advocacy.
What advice would you give to other women thinking about entering the awards?

I have loved my 2x Women Changing the World Summt and Awards experiences in London and I am thrilled to see its expansion with other events in USA and MENA.

Having a trophy to bring home in your suitcase is very exciting but honestly the community, friendships and network that I have gained from the other summit participants and finalists have been the greatest gift of all! This has helped me to achieve my business and advocacy goals this year by having a network of endless encouragement, contacts and advice but also through these women joining my mission. Examples include the selfies that have been sent to me from all over the world of women making blood donations after hearing Marleigh’s story; the business owners who have implimented paid leave for their employess to donate blood or offering commission discounts to other businesses that habe an active employee blood donation policy. I know that these actions alone have ensured so many new donors could give blood and every donation had the potential to save 3 lives.

What has been the best thing about starting your own work/business?
Developing creative solutions to the social challenges of lack of volunteer blood donors in Australia and around the world and having the freedom to capacity build other blood donation advocates to do the same.

I spent much of my career developing public health policy for the federal government and it was a career that I loved but the world was never my own. Through Milkshakes for Marleigh I set me own agenda, manage my own commitments and measure my success by my own terms. My successes demonstrate that “ it takes a lot more than a hashtag to be a change maker” and I am so proud of sticking to my vision when it took me years to get it off the ground and to start having a real impact.

What’s happening next in your work/business?
I have just booked my studio time to record the audiobook version of Milkshakes for Marleigh!

I have many speaking, book tour and media engagements lined up for the rest of 2024 and my 2025 calander is already starting to fill up too!
What are your big plans for the future?

I will continue my mission to end persistent blood shortages in Australia and around the world! The framework I have developed allows for new guests to be interviewed on my podcast and for further versions of the Milkshakes for Marleigh book to be written.

I would REALLY love to so a TED/x talk. I was a Highly Commended finalist in the 60 Second Pitch at TEDx Brisbane in 2023 and increased my desire to deliver a full Ted talk!

What is your website and/or social media links (eg. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)

Website: www.milkshakesformarleigh.org
LinkedIn: Kate Fisher
Instagram: @milkshakes_for_marleigh