Who on earth is reading those popular stories about making over 100 million a month and repaying debts at lightning speed while running street stalls?

01

Stall - related Feel - good Stories

“In debt of 300,000 yuan, I paid it off in two months by running a stall!”

“You look down on me for running a stall, and I despise you for working a nine - to - five job!”

“I paid off a debt of 400,000 yuan by running a stall and even bought a car and a house!”

Open - source Entrepreneurship

Even if you're not a heavy user of short - video platforms, you must have come across quite a few such “feel - good stall - related videos” recently.

The opening of these videos always follows the classic formula of “in debt of XX0,000 yuan + pay off the debt within X months by running a stall + buy a car and a house along the way”. Moreover, the debt amount should be no less than 200,000 yuan, the debt - repayment period should not exceed three months, and prefixes like “along the way, easily, rapidly” must be used when talking about buying a car and a house, showing no sign of hardship or pressure.

The stall owners in front of the camera show no sign of the hardship of setting up a stall, only the excitement and joy like that of a company's roadshow before going public. While telling their stories, they load the items for the stall into the car one by one. It seems that the next stop is not just a stall, but “the next stop, wealth!”

Never Lose the Momentum

Now you know why they're called feel - good stories, right?

Every plot twist and highlight is a product of the common elements of feel - good stories and short videos. Coupled with the “extremely persuasive (misleading)” equipment inspection before setting up the stall and the pre - battle mobilization, it skips the traditional screening of the target audience's IQ and turns into an emotional catalyst — “What else to say? Just set up the stall!”

So, how do these stall - related feel - good stories create a dopamine - fueled frenzy?

The “Stall Economics Award”

No matter what they're selling, they must show the momentum that there are always a bunch of people waiting to buy outside the stall.

“Fake it till make it!” The old tricks from Silicon Valley's success theories still hold true here. The ancestral rules are unchangeable.

This makes the stall - setting scene seem like a strange rule - bound world. As long as the stall is set up, customers will automatically appear.

You can sort of understand it if they're selling big - pot marinated dishes and cold dishes. But it's hard to believe that a stall selling things like steak on a hot plate, tiramisu, and cheese durian cakes can be surrounded by people instantly and become a huge hit in the snack street. You can't help but have doubts.

Come on, why?

Why would people ignore the Chinese restaurants, noodle shops, and barbecue stalls nearby and choose to eat these strange things that are as over - hyped as the deep - fried squid in tourist areas?

Even those with a bit of common sense, even if they were initially swayed by the emotions, will notice something abnormal after watching for a while.

The Portion Size is a Joke

For example, who in their right mind would enjoy a scalding hot synthetic steak on a hot plate on a noon when the outdoor temperature is close to 40 degrees Celsius?

A little bit of marinated food can be sold for 40 yuan easily. We know it's to show high profits, but isn't it underestimating the customers' intelligence?

Moreover, many “customers” don't act like real customers at all. From ordering to paying, they read their lines throughout. Some keep saying it's delicious with a sour face.

The Uncle's Eyes are Filled with Hatred for the Food

Yes, many of these “customers” are extras hired by the stall owners. Now you know where those automatically - refreshed customer NPCs come from, right?

These extras not only get to eat for free but also get some payment. Despite their poor acting skills, the stall owners have set up many personas for them.

Some have to actively say they were recommended by their family members to buy, some have to pretend to be very regretful for not being able to buy in time after the goods are sold out quickly. Some even have to argue with the stall owner to create the effect of the stall being looked down upon, and finally, the stall owner throws the ingredients at them, ending the scene in a feel - good way.

The Stall Owner's Cooking Movements Express Homesickness

Of course, the most crucial part is the accounting session after each day's stall - setting.

Earning thousands of yuan a day is just the entry - level for stall - setting. Earning over ten thousand yuan a day is the norm for stall - related accounts. If it were in the craziest days of WeChat business, the stall owners could claim to earn over a hundred million yuan a month.

If we knew it was so profitable, Xu Jiayin should have gone out to set up a stall to pay off Evergrande's debts. It would have been a piece of cake in just a month or two.

“The Film Set”

So, why do they make it so exaggerated? The food - related scheme to swindle money has become quite widespread.

These accounts have grasped the psychological pain point of the current labor market “it's hard to earn money and hard to endure hardships”. Whether it's the office workers struggling in the office buildings or the small business owners who are in debt due to business losses, who doesn't want a shocking wealth turnaround?

The logic to hook people is simple: “Controllable investment + Simple operation + Flexible management”.

Be Your Own Boss at the Stall and Have a Great Time!

Many desperate people who are eager to find a way out think this logic through and think, “Hey, it seems to make sense.” So, they decide to go all in!

Then comes the time to cut the “leeks” — “Want to learn? I'll teach you.”

After attracting and filtering potential students on short - video platforms, they can pay for courses in the form of products on platforms like “Xianyu”. Most training courses are priced at around 2,900 yuan because if the price exceeds 3,000 yuan, people can call the police to get their money back. So, 2,900 yuan is just under the legal red line, allowing them to swindle money on a large scale.

Buying the courses is not the end. Whether it's online training or in - person offline teaching, the stall - owner teachers will constantly instill brain - washing words like “Running a stall business is easy, profitable, and a piece of cake” in the form of casual conversations during the training process.

As a result, many students start dreaming of quickly reaching the peak of their lives before they even learn the most basic things.

A single sentence “You can earn thousands of yuan a day” is enough to make people ignore the “mere less than 3,000 yuan” training fee. Moreover, when they go offline to learn from the blogger and see the long queue of “customers” in front of the stall, their expectations naturally increase.

After reaping the training fees, many masters will claim to have “ancestral recipes”. The various food bases must be purchased from them, and a single bucket can cost hundreds of yuan. It's a typical bundled sale.

Of course, some masters will use the guise of low - cost teaching to attract more people to learn at first. After a series of filtering and brain - washing, they start selling their exclusive ingredients and repeatedly warn the students: “Without our own ingredients, you can't make the authentic taste.” Thus, they turn a one - time deal into a long - term money - making machine.

After all, many filtered students are quite stubborn. Even though they haven't sold much, they still stock up on a lot of the master's exclusive ingredients.

However, even if these masters aren't lying and swindling, many people still think running a stall is much simpler than it actually is.

There are too many uncontrollable factors such as the weather, location, and foot traffic. Many seemingly impressive business data may be from a single - day peak. They only report the good news and hide the bad.

Even the situation of the operators themselves is a big problem.

If running a stall were really that easy to make money, would it still be your turn?

You can imagine how much perseverance a person who has trouble getting out of bed and can lie in bed scrolling through their phone all day would have to set up a stall regardless of the weather.

Moreover, running a stall involves far more than just going out to set up the stall. There are a lot of things to do before and after. It's really a physically demanding job and hard - earned money.

Even so, there are always people who fall for it. After all, there are many people who don't know their own limits. They think, “Take a chance, and maybe you'll turn your bicycle into a motorcycle!”

02

The Bubble of Feel - good Stories

In the food and beverage industry, there is always a shortage of customers but never a shortage of “leeks”.

Actually, before this wave of food - stall - related feel - good stories, the physical food and beverage entrepreneurship had already sounded a big alarm for the “leeks” across the country.

Half a year ago, “Yongge's Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship Talk” became the well - known “Bible of Entrepreneurship Pitfalls” across the country.