Brook Little swayed and hummed to “Sweet Love” by Anita Baker as she mixed white chocolate into a bowl of blondie batter. Her kitchen was saturated with the sweet aroma from the strawberry cupcakes baking in the oven behind her. Both the blondies and the strawberry cupcakes were part of an order made to Sweets by B.

“Sweet treats have always been a food of comfort for me, and I enjoy baking things to give others that feeling as well,” Brook Little, the owner of Sweets by B, said.

Despite it being the summer of her senior year majoring in accounting, Little officially started her business on the first of July this year.

She said that her best friend, Jaylin, gave her the final push to go ahead and start.

“He really believed this was something I could do. Plus, he also probably got tired of hearing me talk about starting the business one day,” Little said.

So, she started her business of baking and making sweets from her on-campus apartment kitchen.

Little displays excellent time-management skills by juggling her difficult accounting classes with her business. She is also the president of ULM’s Rotaract club, a member of the Women’s Symposium Empower Board, a member of Beta Alpha Psi and a TRiO participant.

“I have tried almost everything on the menu. My personal favorite is the strawberry cupcake. I buy her treats not just because she is my friend but because she is so talented that her sweets always come out lovely,” Terrishan Howard, a senior management major, said.

Howard first met Little in her sophomore year through the TRiO program and both have since remained close friends.

Howard said that Brook Little is a role model to the entire black community, at least in Monroe, because she has contributed to increasing the quality of black-owned businesses in Monroe.

Miya Reed, a junior radiologic technology major, who has been friends with Little since her freshman year said, “Brook Little is passionate about baking, it is all she talks about. She has always wanted to open her bakery. Baking is a way for her to get away from the stress of school.”

Ambernae Williams, a junior biology pre-med major, said that she had Little’s brownies before during TRiO friends-giving and they were delicious.

Williams also met Little through the TRiO program.

“Brook Little is a very sweet and dependable person. She knows almost anything about what the campus has to offer, and is willing to help however she can,” Williams said. “That is what makes her so reliable and approachable.”

Reed said that once Little’s business gains more exposure, she may be able to open up her store and more of the Monroe community will enjoy Sweets by B. She already gives a lot back to the community through Rotaract.

“Sweets by B has so much potential, especially in a college town where there will always be a need for sweet treats. She is also contributing to the student community by motivating other students that are considering starting up their businesses,” Howard said.

Little encourages others that are interested in starting up a business of their own.

“To anyone thinking about starting a business, just do it! Don’t think about starting. Just start,” Little said.

She also said that even though there have been trying days along the way, she sees those difficulties as lessons learned for the future.

“Sweets by B is still small, but I am working hard to grow my business each day,” Little said.