Documentary reveals business life in a flux

The production team members connected with franchisee communities where they met Mu Yichen, a seasoned franchise operator.

In 2012, Mu opened his first CoCo bubble tea store, branch of a Taiwan franchise. Over the years, he expanded his portfolio to 500 stores across various franchises at peak operation. His business flourished only to crumble in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Determined to share both his success strategies and hard-learned lessons, Mu launched a franchise training program with partners last November.

To date, over 10,000 aspiring entrepreneurs have sought his advice.

"About 70 percent of these potential franchisees have absolutely no prior business experience," Mu notes.

He observes that China's franchise industry has reached massive scale.

"We're talking about a trillion-yuan industry with millions of participants. Yet, no one has systematically educated newcomers about industry norms. This creates an unfair environment where inexperienced investors often make blind, costly decisions."

He's now committed to leading collective self-help efforts within this community.

"In this business, we learn through failure," reflects fellow franchisee Zhao Baoli.