October is Indigenous Business Month and at the Yarpa Hub we’re celebrating by sharing with you the great Indigenous businesses we work with.

Indigenous owned company, Plate Events & Catering, has been serving up some unique and tasty treats.

Taking pride in being a one-stop destination for anyone looking to host an event, this growing business offers services such as event management, catering, floral design, styling and much more.

For owner, Matthew Atkins, his passion for bringing people together through his catering is what inspires him.

“I’ve always had a great passion for food and the power it has to bring people together and make an event amazing. I saw an opportunity to create a unique business like mine many years ago and just took the leap and did it!”

Matthew trained as a chef straight after high school and made his way to a number of premier Sydney venues with one of his former employers. One day he took a leap of faith to start his own business.

“I decided to give up the transit and give up working for someone else and go at it on my own.”

Starting Plate Events & Catering at the age of 19, the Indigenous business owner has been working hard to grow his business.

“I’ve seen my business grow from strength to strength over the past 10 years and it continues to grow daily, along with myself. Being a business owner offers a sense of pride and accomplishment and when you really nail it, it feels even better!”

“Highlights for me so far include having clients such as Community First Credit Union, Subaru and McDonald’s Australia utilise our services. As well as having my recipes featured in the Greater Sydney Living magazine recently and catering for Prime Minister, Scott Morrison at the opening of the new Western Sydney Airports Experience Centre.”

His advice for other Indigenous businesses is to do your research and find your network.

“I was hesitant in taking the leap to go at it on my own and for anyone else out there who feels the same, my advice would be to do your research and build up a strong network of contacts that can help you out along the way. Whether it be through services like Yarpa or Supply Nation, or others such as your local Chamber of Commerce or business acquaintances. We’ve all been at the same starting point at one time or another, so you’d be surprised at just how many people will be willing to help you out.”

As Plate events continues to thrive, Atkins has plenty of plans up his sleeves.

“Growth, growth and more growth. We’ll continue to build our network, build our services and build our customer base, all while helping to spread the word and spread the use of Native Ingredients, something we’re truly passionate about.

You can follow Plate Events & Catering on Instagram and Facebook.