Professional women in the St. Louis region likely have heard of Angel Magasano, the founder and CEO of Little Black Book (LBB): Women in Business. The corporate professional, turned stay-at-home mom, turned cake boss entrepreneur, community cheerleader and powerhouse promoter of women has dedicated her career to empowering women in a myriad of ways.
A professional women’s organization dedicated to connecting, educating and supporting women in business and leadership, LBB also gained notoriety since its inception in 2012 by making a huge local impact through service and philanthropy. Most notably, LBB has for more than a decade led the charge in St. Charles County for the Marine Corp Reserve Toys for Tots, collecting and giving hundreds of thousands of toys to kids in need. Even as Angel stepped back from the effort during 2025 for the first time in years, the organization still gave some 20,000 toys to the St. Louis distribution center of Toys for Tots.
Angel instigates. She motivates. She facilitates. And few do it all with the energy and pleasant confidence that she does. For the fifth year running, she and LBB will host BECOME 2026: Bold & Creative, as a two-day women’s inspirational summit where participants connect with successful female professionals, gain insight and inspiration from their journeys and witness the transformative power of women supporting women.
Dubbed the “Women’s Day of Inspiration,” the conference will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in St. Louis, March 12-13, 2026. It will assemble visionary women, dynamic speakers and immersive workshops designed to help women grow personally and professionally. Attendees will enjoy inspiring keynote speakers, interactive brand labs, curated networking and special events, including the BECOME Boutique and Book Fair.
“At Little Black Book, we're more than a network,” says Angel. “We're a sisterhood of like-minded women dedicated to personal and professional development and community service. Our mission is to foster connections, provide self-development opportunities and create a meaningful impact within our communities.”
The LBB’s membership spans both Missouri and Illinois residents, and provides a platform for meaningful engagement and support among professional women. Its members have contributed over $1 million to local nonprofit organizations since 2012.
After leaving her job in the corporate world to stay home with her children, she says she was inspired by a cake decorating class she took, as well as "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro and renowned pastry chef, Duff Goldman of Food Network's Ace of Cakes. “I remembered how fun that class was, and I thought I was just going to build a big celebration for my kids.”
But by the end of the year, Angel had built 400-plus multi-tiered cakes and a small business to boot.
Originally spurred on by a call from a friend asking her to build a cake for her child, Angel was off and running. “But I didn’t know how to get it out of my kitchen,” she says. “I didn’t know anything about running the business. That propelled me forward to start building a business, to be taken seriously at that venture.”
Before long, Angel says she found herself “communing and networking with others in my space, stay-at-home moms who wanted the same thing.” And Little Black Book: Women in Business was born along with its members’ willingness to do something for others.
“That’s when we really picked up steam, when we started making a difference in the community. That made us a leadership group in the community,” Angel says. With that steam came the confidence she needed to get out of her comfort zone and walk into, among other things, the mayor’s office door and local schools to ask for their support. Angel says StreetScape Magazine publisher, the late Thomas Hannegan, was the first to see hers and LBB’s potential. “Tom Hannegan was my first real, bonafide, community partner who valued what I was doing. He was very instrumental.”
In 2023, Angel partnered with novelist, Shelly Snow-Pordea, to create Little Black Book Publishing, a creative outlet for amplifying women’s voices and turning their ideas into published works. Whether it be through high-content, including publishing autobiographies, biographies, novels, self-development, cookbooks, travel guides and professional development, or medium-content publishing, such as journals, coloring books, activity workbooks and puzzle books, Little Black Book Publishing assists writers in every facet of idea generation, writing and publishing. It provides author support through author coaching, ghostwriting, proofreading and content editing; marketing and launch and promotional strategies to help a book reach its audience. Guided publishing allows clients to get support for their brand while keeping full ownership and royalties for their work.
Angel says “every woman’s story deserves to be heard. Whether it’s a novel that captivates, a memoir that moves or a guide that empowers, we provide the platform and support to bring their words to life.” And LBB Publishing just signed its first national client.
Little Black Book empowers women to lead LBB chapters in their local municipalities, and collaborates with local businesses and service organizations. Each chapter offers monthly programming open to the public, designed to connect, educate, inspire and empower.
The LBB organization also launched Onyx Network in 2025, a private application-based group that Angel says is a “mastermind network” whose purpose is to help a network of women who run businesses that generate $250,000 to $5 million in revenue. “People need someone to help them troubleshoot challenges and listen to their aspirations,” she says.
Still, cheerleading is what Angel does best. “Watching someone realize their dream is joyful for me,” Angel says. “That’s my purpose, my strength and gift to cheer others on in an authentic and meaningful way, recognizing what their strengths are and helping them pull it out of themselves, to be inspired toward their next thing. I feel accomplished if I'm successful when I have watched or helped out. That’s where my joy lives.”
Angel Magasano says "making a difference" made Little Black Book a "leadership group in the community,”
“We're more than a network,” says Angel Magasano, founder and CEO of Little Black Book. “We're a sisterhood of like-minded women dedicated to personal and professional development and community service.”