A new wave of so - called "easy - money" businesses in county towns are starting to show their true colors.

On the eve of March 15th, a new wave of so - called "get - rich - quick" businesses in small towns are starting to show their true colors.

Recently, many netizens have complained that on both sides of "Jiefang Road", the main street in their hometowns' small towns, nearly one - third of the new stores that were brightly lit and hung with "Grand Opening" banners on New Year's Eve have not opened their rolling shutters since the Spring Festival.

This is not just the feeling of a few individuals. Some media have even reported that "more and more stores in small towns are going out of business."

If someone pays careful attention, they will find that not all stores in small towns are closing down. Instead, there is a precise "stratification":

Most of the closed stores are those with fancy franchise signs, such as "Mixue Aurora" milk tea shops, "XX Discount" snack stores, and "XX Bear" children's programming centers.

The stores that are still open are still Mr. Wang's barbershop, Mr. Li's hardware store, and the community grain and oil store.

It has to be said that this wave of store closures in small towns is even more tragic than in big cities. This is a precise "battle royale" targeting the savings of the middle - class in small towns, and the first to be eliminated are precisely those middle - class people in small towns who have staked all their life savings and dreamed of achieving social mobility through "franchising".

Why did the once - highly - regarded franchise stores in small towns collapse on the eve of March 15th?

Thought it was a "myth of easy money",

Actually, it's a "money - losing trap"

The beginning of all tragedies is like a thrilling novel.

Some people are tired of working in big cities and want to go back to their hometowns to start a business. So, since last year, they have easily been bombarded by the "three - piece set for middle - aged entrepreneurship":

One is the food and beverage milk tea shop, which is advertised as "a money - printing machine in small towns, getting your investment back in three months!"; the second is the so - called "hot trend" of discount stores for near - expired foods; the third is the so - called "light - asset franchise" of children's quality education, with the slogan "Earning one million a year is not a dream!"

In the promotion, there are not only screenshots of payment receipts and videos of long queues, but also the very appealing words: "The dividends in big cities are exhausted. The last blue ocean is right under our feet in small towns!"

After all, the consumption in small towns has been booming in recent years, which is obvious to all.

Many big brands from first - and second - tier cities have started to adopt the strategy of "encircling rural areas from cities". There were KFC and McDonald's earlier, and then Luckin and Cha Ji, etc. They all want to open stores in small towns to grab a bigger share of the market.

Many fast - franchise operators not only target North - drifters and Shanghai - drifters who want to return to their hometowns, but also eye the "anxiety about fixed salaries" of some well - off middle - class people in small towns. In their words, the path depicted for this "new get - rich - quick business" is crystal clear:

You, a middle - class person in a small town with a savings of hundreds of thousands, local connections, and tired of a fixed salary, just need to find a big brand and pay the franchise fee. Then the brand will provide you with full - set support: site selection, training, supply chain, and marketing plans. All you have to do is be a "hands - off boss" and wait for the cash flow to pour in. You can create the "next Cha Ji" or the "next Tustin" and then earn money easily.

As for the risks? They seem to be dispelled by the slogan "Full - course support, worry - free entrepreneurship".

So, lured by such promises, many people were tempted. They withdrew their bank fixed - deposits and scraped together 300,000 yuan to become the second franchisee of "XX Tea" or "XX Programming" in their county. For example, the owner of a children's programming store in a small town is a primary school teacher who invested 500,000 yuan, of which 200,000 yuan was from online loans. The owner of a snack discount store in a small town is a township civil servant who staked the money he had saved for buying a car.

Many people thought that becoming a small boss would solve all problems, but the truth is that paper wealth does not equal reality.

The statistical data from the China General Chamber of Commerce reveals a cruel truth. The annual closure rate of physical stores is as high as 37%. On average, 28 stores close every hour.

Among them, the food and beverage industry has become the hardest - hit area. Nearly ten thousand stores have closed, and 60% of new stores do not survive for 12 months. The once - bustling full - meal restaurants in commercial areas are now vacant in large numbers.

The snack franchise business is also extremely tragic. In a small county in Nanchang, five snack franchise stores are up for transfer. Some stores even show "short - lived" characteristics: a snack franchise store opened in October 2023 and closed in mid - 2024; another one opened in March 2025 and was up for transfer in July.

The tea and coffee industry is also having a hard time. The industry has experienced a "major reshuffle", with 157,000 stores closing throughout the year, and 411 stores disappearing on average every day.

March 15th is approaching. Every year at this time, some consumer traps and fake - goods merchants are exposed. However, there is a more hidden and systematic form of "exploitation" that is rarely brought to the surface.

That is the franchise business that packages a business model that has shown signs of fatigue in first - and second - tier cities or is simply fictional as the last chance in life and sells it to the middle - class in small towns.

They often have all the proper procedures and claim that it's all about mutual willingness.

It's hard to say it's a fraud, but it's more like a legal hunt, and the money burned is quite astonishing.

Burned through hundreds of thousands,

Many middle - class people in small towns disappeared overnight

"Invested 700,000 yuan and lost it all in three months."

Sounds scary? But this is just the epitome of many franchisees in small towns.

The brand owners weave a dream of "easy money". But in reality, after novice entrepreneurs pay the franchise fee, decorate the store, and stock up the first batch of goods, they find that they are just cannon fodder in the brand's money - making plan.

The first cornerstone of the "myth of easy money" is the information gap.

The brand owners use the language of first - tier cities, carefully selected data, and edited success stories to build a tangible golden dream in front of the middle - class in small towns: low - cost trial and high - return harvest.

But in fact, some franchisees just copy well - known brands and forge "endorsements from big companies".

For example, a 22 - year - old college student in Shandong wanted to franchise a bibimbap brand but was cheated out of 150,000 yuan by a "fake" company. The company claimed to be an "upgraded version", with a franchise fee of only 60,000 yuan, and promised "site selection by the headquarters and guaranteed customer flow". He was tempted, took out the 150,000 yuan given by his parents, and paid the franchise fee, rent, and decoration costs... But before the store even opened, the brand owner completely disappeared.

This "copying" method has formed an industrial chain. In the blacklist of high - risk franchise brands in 2025, brands such as Chayu Shiguang, Yinyue Gongfang, Mixue Gongzhu, Chama Mama, and Cha Qian Sui all have problems such as imitating well - known brands, lacking core technology, and having a closure rate of over 50%.

Do you think you can rest easy after avoiding the fake franchise scams? That's too naive.

The second killer feature of the "myth of easy - money franchising" is an endless money - burning pit.

Many franchisees didn't expect that paying the franchise fee and decoration fee was just the beginning of burning money.

On the surface, small towns seem to be a low - cost area, but in fact, they are an efficiency trap. Many franchisees have truly complained: "I invested 700,000 yuan to open a store. After half a year, three more stores of the same brand opened nearby. Their opening promotions directly stole my customers."

They have to continue to burn money to attract customers. In this process, the brand owners earn the franchise fees and supply - chain profits, the landlords earn the rent, and the platforms earn a percentage of the turnover.

So, more and more small bosses who used to earn over ten thousand yuan a month are secretly posting notices to urgently transfer their prosperous stores.

In this battle royale, franchisees are never players but fuel.

If you don't understand these three words,

You can only close the store

Why did the franchise stores in small towns collectively go from booming to failing?

On the surface, it's due to the changing macro - environment. In essence, it's the structural change in market consumption.

A report once revealed a key trend: The middle - class identity recognition among consumers in small towns is gradually fading. "Looking decent in others' eyes" is becoming less important, and this trend is more obvious among the younger generation.

Based on this idea, small towns don't need 20 homogeneous snack stores. What they need more are breakfast shops rooted in the community, old restaurants that have kept the same signboard for decades, or retail stores that can provide local - characteristic products.

However, the standardized stores driven by capital can hardly meet this demand. As some consumers complain, chain stores don't even have the salted chicken that locals love, which is less distinctive than the small grocery store downstairs.

In contrast to the avalanche of franchise stores, in the business ecosystem of small towns, only the grocery stores, small supermarkets, and breakfast shops along the streets of residential areas can maintain relatively stable business. Although