While most nine-year olds spend their days working the playground, Madeleine Buchner was running fundraisers and hosting charity events. Then again, Madeleine isn’t your typical nine-year-old. After her brother was diagnosed with a series of health conditions, Madeleine spent her childhood accompanying her family in and out of hospitals. When her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, Madeleine found herself thrust into the role of a young carer for her brother, often feeling lonely and isolated from her peers.

It was one day, after discovering that 1-in-10 people in the UK are caring for a family member with a serious illness, a sixteen-year-old Madeleine became determined to create a program that would support young carers around the world. From there, Little Dreamers Australia was born.In this refreshingly candid episode, Madeleine gets real about her loneliness as a child and about her self-doubts as a young business owner.

Madeleine Buchner is the CEO and Founder of Little Dreamers Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that supports the siblings of sick children and young carers. She was also named as a 2017 Queen’s Young Leader Award and a Tedx speaker.

How Madeleine’s childhood was impacted by her brother’s illness [2:15]

How Madeleine dealt with her feelings of loneliness as a teenager [6:10]

How the idea for Little Dreamers was formed at just 9 years old [8:38]

How Madeleine managed to get celebrities to endorse her events [14:00]

How Madeleine overcame the feelings of judgement from other people [17:57]

How Little Dreamers progressed and built its programs [20:39]

Madeleine’s advice on how to turn ideas into action [23:37]

The obstacles to building her business [25:29]

How she made the leap to becoming her own boss [31:10]

How she met the Queen at Buckingham Palace [34:49]

How she met Liam Payne from One Direction [40:08]

The biggest takeaways from her journey [45:38]

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