I was having lunch with a business colleague, “Rachael” the other day, and she told me how she has been asked by several clients to offer group programs.

Currently Rachael is a health coach who offers one-on-one coaching sessions, but she hasn’t yet started to cultivate and market to groups. It’s something she’s been meaning to do but hasn’t had time to get to yet.

I told Rachael, “Tell your clients if they each gather 5 friends for a group program, that you’ll give them a free space in your program, or they can share the discount among their friends.”

Rachael paused for a moment and looked at me with both amazement and relief. And then a smile grew from ear to ear. That idea had honestly never occurred to her.

When we are solopreneurs running our own businesses, we often forget to look outside ourselves for help in growing our businesses. We often don’t think about how to invite clients into the co-creative process of developing new programs, products, and services.

By incentivizing her clients, Rachael is encouraging word-of-mouth marketing, one of the strongest types of marketing. And she’ll have a ready-made group formed without spending any of her own time, energy, or resources on marketing.

How else can you invite your clients to co-create your business?