MY WHY:The first time I tried my hand at entrepreneurship, I had left LAUSD after working for 15 years as a teacher and administrator. I had decided to open my own school for twice exceptional kids. I had a partner, a teacher, classrooms, a playground and all the curriculum was written and developed by my team of three. We opened our doors and, to my utter shock and horror, no one came running. After three years of trying to recruit students and come up with different ways of bringing in revenue, I found myself attending networking events, seeking support and advice, and I noticed I was always one of the few women in the room. The topics the group would discuss didn’t apply to me and my experience or to that of the other women in the room. I connected with the two other women in the group over coffee. Then I looked a little closer at my own circle and found I was actually surrounded by female entrepreneurs; a photographer, an interior designer, an architect. We all had similar experiences; feeling like we were working in a bubble, in competition with each other and lacking community with shared experience. So I hosted a dinner party and the six of us gathered and talked about the lack of networking events that were female focused. Next, I had another dinner party but this time there were nine of us, then 12, and the next thing I knew, my house was filled with 20 women who kept asking when the next dinner party was and if they could bring a friend who was also an entrepreneur. It was then that I paused, looked around my crowded living room and thought, “I need a website and membership platform that showcases all of these brilliant women; a digital space that people could refer to when they need to hire an architect, hair stylist or dog walker, but also to offer female entrepreneurs a community that wants to see them be successful.”In order to brand this brilliant idea, I needed to find something that connected us all. whether you wear one or not, every woman at some point in her life has had an experience with a bra and what does that bra do? It LIFTS and SUPPORTS, which became a core value of Business Relationship Alliance.My BIO:Carrie Murray is the founder of BRA - Business Relationship Alliance, a network of powerful women devoted to advancing female-owned businesses by providing the community, collaboration, mentorship, empowerment and support needed to flourish as an entrepreneur.