Diana Frost’s story is far from conventional. As a child, Diana was raised in two very different worlds: Scotland, and Gabon in Western Africa. It was not until Diana moved back to Canada for university that she began to learn more about her mother’s Indigenous heritage. After working in a variety of engineering roles, Diana decided to pursue her love of literature.

“While I was looking into publishing an e-book, I got into the adult colouring book craze. I had a dream to create one using Indigenous art to help people reconnect with their heritage, and to connect the average Canadian to Indigenous culture.”

In 2016, she founded Colouring It Forward, a social enterprise that has both not-for-profit and for-profit components.

“I decided I wanted to form a social enterprise, to not only support artists and elders but to also make donations to Indigenous community projects, give people a way to support reconciliation, and be involved with a grassroots project.”

Colouring It Forward now has books in major museums across the country and in 51 Staples stores across Western Canada.

Recently, Diana was given a Blackfoot name, natoyinhsin, meaning ‘Holy Song’. For Diana, the name reflects her identity, rebirth, and the work she does to help the community. When asked what she is proud of, Diana says supporting the growth of artists has been very rewarding.

“I have seen some of the artists in my book go from selling their artwork on the street to making large murals for schools, developing close relationships with mayors, and being called on by CBC for comments.”

In her journey, Diana has reached out to entrepreneur service providers for support.

“I recently completed the NextStep to Success program with AWE. In the program, I was able to develop ties with other Indigenous women entrepreneurs and learn about business plans. Both AWE and Business Link have helped me quite a bit.”

When asked what advice she would give to someone who wants to start their own business, Diana’s answer is that you simply need to get started.

“When I was going to publish my first book, I wrote down a list of five actions to get started—and then I just started. My advice would be don’t spend so much time thinking. Just start doing and before you know it, you’ll have your business.”