My name is Nichelle Stephens. I am a bookkeeper, comedian, food writer, event producer, service industry professional and social media strategist.  I love cupcakes and I am the co-founder of Cupcakes Take The Cake, the most popular blog about cupcakes.    I like creating niche blogs. I am the founder of  Keeping Nickels, a personal finance and business accounting blog for freelancers and entrepreneurs.  I am also the founder of a local Facebook Page, Gnatty Savannah.  Currently,  I live in Savannah after living in Birmingham, Atlanta, Cincinnati,  Harlem, and Brooklyn.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, I worked for about five years as an internal auditor doing work for several organizations. Eventually, I left the corporate world and have been bookkeeping for entrepreneurs and LLCs for over a decade.  I was formerly editor of the NAACP Image Award-winning site Pepsi We Inspire, a branded lifestyle blog and community for African-American women. I have consulted for a few tech start-ups including The Sweeten and With Love From Brooklyn.  I was a founding member of New Work City, a co-working  space in New York City.

For five years, I was the co-producer of food blogger conference TECHmunch.   Other events that I have produced have included book release parties, clothing swaps, and cupcake socials.  For nearly four years, I ran a live stand-up comedy show featuring female performers called Chicks and Giggles. The show got press mentions in The New York Times and The New Yorker.  I currently run a monthly comedy show in Savannah at White Whale Craft Ales.

I enjoy public speaking. I have spoken at SXSW Interactive in 2009 and 2010. I have spoken at TECHmunch. I was one of the keynote speakers at the Rochester Institute of Technology Small Business and Social Media Conference in  2011. I was a keynote speaker at Salon LGBTQ in October 2013. In addition, I have has spoken on conference panels at Blog World Expo (2009), Internet Week NY (2012) and Social Media Week (2012).

In 2019, I was a Code for America fellow for the Savannah Brigade.

I publish two weekly substack newsletters, Nichelle Newsletter and The 31401.

I have written for several online and print publications including About.com, AllBusiness.com,  Black Table, Fusion, Gothamist, PSFK and WellFED Savannah.  I have had television appearances on CNN, The Today Show, Martha Stewart, and The Food Network.

I have been quoted in Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Austin Chronicle, Black Enterprise, Comstock’s Entrepreneur, Inc., Life and Style, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Daily News and The New York Post.

Fun fact about me:  I hold the world record for the longest cupcake kebab.