" MAGIC " STRATEGIES CONT ...
“ It ’ s not about name recognition ,” Magic said . “ It ’ s not about anything other than you having a solid business strategy . Show them how they ’ re going to get a return on their investment and also how you ’ re going to drive ROI .”
# 4 PLAY OUTSIDE THE LINES AND DEVELOP A SOLID BUSINESS PLAN .
At the time Magic was trying to get a loan , investing in urban development was not an obvious choice . Magic ’ s forward-thinking plan and unwavering belief that growth was in urban America is what drove him to keep trying despite being turned down over and over . “ I didn ’ t think , I KNEW my business plan and my business strategy was sound ,” Magic said .
Magic illustrated that minorities would spend money with the $ 1.5 trillion in spending power of African Americans and another $ 1.5 trillion in spending power from Latinos . Magic told potential bank investors , “ Nobody is going after their disposable income ,” and “ I ’ ve got a plan that can make you guys a lot of money .” His plan was to build businesses in urban America . He emphasized this was a good plan by also talking about how everyone was going after the money in suburban America , which made it a much more competitive market .
Once he demonstrated to the bank that there was incredible spending power in targeting minorities , that there was much less competition for their money , and how he could get a return on their investment , he got a “ Yes .” This loan is what kicked off the Magic Johnson Theaters and Starbucks .
# 5 GET YOUR AUDIENCE TO BUY IN .
Magic went to the urban communities he wanted to develop first . He talked to the people living there and told them what he wanted to do . He told them about the quality retailers he wanted to bring to their community and that he would hire people of color to work inside those businesses and give them training to do their jobs . He also got buy-in from the business community . “ This was thinking outside the box , so I had to have a CEO who had the ability to think outside the box ,” Magic explained .
Magic asked Mike Norris , the CEO of Loews Cineplex ( later AMC theatres ), to look at the data . “ The data shows that if African Americans like a movie , they go see it three times ,” Magic said . “ They don ’ t go just one time . And we were the number one group of people at that time going to the movies because we were priced out of professional sports . . . so we go to one of the most affordable things which is going to the movies .”
Next , Magic bet him that his theater concession stand sales would be among the highest grossing in the country , showing Mike the data to back up his claim . “ When I showed him that information , he said , ‘ I get it . Let ’ s start building Magic Johnson Theaters ,’” Magic said .
# 6 DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST .
The first Magic Johnson Theater was built in Los Angeles and , as predicted , the concession sales landed it in the top ten highest grossing theaters in the nation .
Magic knew his audience ’ s likes and dislikes and catered to them . He removed everything from the concession stands that minorities didn ’ t like and replaced it with the items they did like , whether it was sodas or candies and so on . He understood their buying behaviors . For example , he knew that minorities don ’ t go to dinner and a show — they eat dinner at
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