hit the intercom button , and pretend he was the CEO asking his assistant to bring him donuts , coffee , and the paper . “ I was sitting there dreaming I was CEO at 16 years old , and now here I am 60 , and I ’ m the CEO and own my own business . I think those moments helped shape who I am today .”
2 .
Seek Out Mentorship .
When Magic started in the NBA , there was an unwritten rule that “ players just played , and owners owned .” Unfamiliar with this rule , Magic started a conversation with the owner , Dr . Jerry Buss , which led to a lifelong mentorship . “ I had never been away from my family my entire life ,” Magic said . “ Dr . Jerry Buss picked me up , and we instantly hit it off . He knew I was out in Los Angeles by myself , so he used to pick me up every weekend , and we used to sit and just talk and talk .” When Dr . Buss asked Magic what his dreams were after basketball , Magic told him he wanted to be a businessman . “ He didn ’ t say anything , but a week later , he brought me all these books he wanted me to read ,” Magic said . “ And then he said , ‘ I ’ m going to help you accomplish your goal . I ’ m going to open up the Laker books to you to teach you business ,’ and he did . I learned so much , and he became my first mentor .”
After five years of mentoring , Magic asked Dr . Buss if he would give him the names and phone numbers of all the season ticket holders . Magic wanted to cold-call all the CEOs and presidents that were season ticket holders to invite them to lunch so he could pick their brains . “ I wanted to find out how they became successful and what I should look out for ,” Magic said . He called all 50 names , and all of them said yes . One of those 50 turned out to be Peter Guber , who was running Sony at the time and later became one of Magic ’ s business partners .
Many of Magic ’ s mentors and business partners came out of those lunches and are still his mentors today . “ If I were to tell anybody anything , it ' s that mentors are very important , especially when you have goals and dreams but don ’ t know how to get there . They can tell you their journey , and you can grab from that and incorporate it into your own goals and dreams . I have mentors today , and I became a mentor to a lot of people , as well .”
3 .
Refuse To Lose .
When Magic left basketball and started in business , people thought he had it easy , but he struggled , made mistakes , and even failed . There was a lot of pain and frustration . People wanted his autograph , so they ’ d take a meeting but didn ’ t take him seriously . “ I could get the meetings ,” Magic said . “ Magic Johnson got me that part , but Magic Johnson also played a role against me getting deals too … I used my own money in the beginning , but then I wanted growth and sustainability . I wanted to go for bigger deals , and I needed other people ’ s money to accomplish that , but they all turned me down .”
It took him three years before he was finally able to get a loan . He made wise investments with that money , which took him to a whole other level in business that he is at today . And all those banks that turned him down ? They all want to do business with him now , and he is the one turning them down .
“ 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 African American $ 1.5 trillion spending power and another $ 1.5 trillion 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 No . 1 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 the concession stand sales would be among the highest-grossing theaters 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 10 highest grossing theaters in the nation .
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