Home / The Four Phases
— THE METHOD
Choose. Fund. Stabilize. Build
Four ordinary people. Four ways in. One repeatable system underneath all of them. These are the four phases you run for every business you come to own — the spine of the book, the course, and the free tools.
— THE SHAPE OF IT
One loop you repeat, one business at a time.
You don't graduate from the four phases — you run them again for each business you add. That's how one microbusiness becomes a portfolio.
PHASE 01
Choose
Pick a business that already makes money.
PHASE 02
Fund
Use lenders built to say yes to new owners.
PHASE 03
Stabilize
Make it run without you.
PHASE 04
Build
Repeat, and grow a portfolio.
What each phase actually asks of you.
— PHASE BY PHASE
PHASE 01
Choose
Most people fall for a business before they check whether it's worth owning. Choose flips that. Before anything else, you screen a business against four questions — and a flat “no” on any one of them is usually reason enough to keep looking.
✓ Recurring revenue — do customers come back on a schedule, a route, or a contract?
✓ Recession resistance — do people still pay for it when money is tight?
✓ Runs without the owner — can the work be taught and hired?
✓ AI resistance — will it still need a human on-site in ten years?
Supported by the free Microbusiness Scorecard, the AI-Resistance Quick Test, and the 50 Boring Businesses list.
PHASE 02
Fund
Banks turn down first-time owners every day. Fund is about the other lending world most people never knew existed — mission-driven community lenders built to say yes. It's also where a business proves it's fundable: the records, history, and cash flow a lender needs to see. And be clear about what the loan is: it is not the purchase price. Lenders at every rung expect the buyer to put in equity of their own, so a business priced near the top of the range needs cash beyond what the lender provides.
✓ CDFIs — Community Development Financial Institutions for Main Street deals
✓ SBA microloan intermediaries — built for startups and first-time borrowers
✓ Community Advantage lenders — SBA-backed loans up to $350,000 — the ceiling on the loan, not on your own contribution
✓ The right match — a lender sized to your deal, not the other way around
Supported by the free Lender Matching Guide — and the Funding Blueprint, offered by many community lenders.
PHASE 03
Stabilize
Buying a business isn't the finish line. Stabilize turns something you bought into an asset you own — one that keeps running, and keeps paying, whether or not you show up. The test is simple: could you disappear for a week and come back to a business that's still standing?
✓ The first 90 days — steady the ship before you change anything
✓ Systems and roles — so the work doesn't live in your head
✓ The Disappearance Test — prove it runs without you
✓ Protecting cash flow — and handling the common issues
Supported by the Operating System, which walks you through each step, live.
PHASE 04
Build
One stabilized business is an income. A portfolio of them is wealth. Build is where you repeat the system — add the next business, share what you've already built, and grow toward a portfolio worth $1M+ in enterprise value when you sell.
✓ Readiness to Replicate — know when you're truly ready for a second
✓ The Business Expansion Map — plan the next move
✓ Shared assets — let each business make the next one easier
✓ Exit and valuation — build something worth buying
Supported by the Operating System's Build phase and the readiness tools.
— WHERE THE FOUR PHASES LIVE
See it, do it, or start free.
See it — the book
Watch Maria, Marcus, Jenny, and Mike run all four phases in The Microbusiness Millionaire.
Do it — the course
The Operating System walks you through every phase, live and online, with the tools for each step.
Start free — the tools
The Scorecard, AI-Resistance Quick Test, and Lender Matching Guide cover the first two phases at no cost.
One system. Four phases. Repeat.
It's the same path four ordinary people walked — and the same one waiting for you.