The Empty Tip Jar Theory
Not long ago, I attended an event for a musician friend of mine, we’ll call him Joe, at a local watering hole. It was one of those nights where you get together with your friends, listen to good music and just enjoy the atmosphere, surroundings and the shenanigans of those around you.
He’d just finished Mustang Sally and during a short break from his set, I casually questioned my pal about what kind of money he’d typically see on a night like this one. The crowd was lively, and he’d had multiple requests, and let’s face it… I’m nosy. It was obvious that he wasn’t a celebrity or making music to pay the bills, but I really wondered if it was lucrative at all, or if it was really just a way for him to share his talent and hobby with the likes of us who are just really great listeners.
So when he laid out for me how he was paid by the venue, he emphasized that most of his money came from tips. We’ve all been there, right? Cool band in the bar, we go drop a couple dollars in to let them know they rock, and we appreciate them being there.. I’d never thought of the theory or the idea behind it, and here I am digging into my buddy’s finances, when I get the best piece of psychology handed to me – the empty tip jar theory.
Much like the idea behind Field of Dreams (You know, “build it and they will come”). The Empty Tip Jar Theory says that an empty tip jar will remain empty, whereas a tip jar with just a few dollars in it is a welcoming mat to patrons and bad dancers, alike. But how does it work?
At the beginning of every performance Joe puts a couple of dollars into his clear glass, tip jar. Why? Why would he pay himself to play? Obviously, it was already his money and would go back into his pocket at the end of the night, but why would he put it in there in the first place. Why is the jar clear? What does any of this matter?
He then explained the facets of the empty tip jar – “priming” the tip jar gives people a sense of belonging. He noted that people want to feel like part of a group or better yet, they don’t want to feel like the jerk in the group, so when they see that people are already “tipping” or “giving” to something, they want to be included as well, and the jar’s empty for the most obvious reason. SO PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT’S IN IT.
Another proponent of the tip jar is to give people anonymity but also autonomy. If there’s no money in the jar, no one wants to be the person to put a dollar in when on-a-first-date-big-spender-guy puts his crisp $20 bill in to hear Free Bird. You can give freely and choose for yourself. Human nature loves this.
Joe went back to his talents, and I spent the rest of the night and coming days thinking about what he’d said, and how it kind of pertained to my life in a completely different way.
I got to thinking, what am I adding to my tip jar?
Am I adding value and hard work? What do people see when they see my theoretical tip jar? Is it empty? Am I waiting for others to pour into me without first pouring into myself? Am I expecting other people to give me all of the tools and information I need to be successful? Am I setting an example that other people want to follow?
It goes without saying that the time, effort and value you put into yourself, your work, your family, your hobbies.. every aspect of your life, are the tips in the tip jar at the beginning of the night that people are waiting to see.
When we look at this from an employment perspective, we have to ask ourselves, what are we doing to make ourselves better employees? A better co-worker, assistant, boss, team leader, etc.
Are we participating in Professional Development opportunities?
Are we reading books about leadership?
Are we constantly researching and learning?
Are we a team player that cares about those around us?
With everything going on in the world and our lives, it’s hard to take time to focus on yourself and being the best you can be, but the time that you’ll devote to growing and building will pay for itself in ways you can’t imagine in the future.
Your homework today is to just take some time to think about your current situation and where you want to be a year from now. When people look at you, is your proverbial tip jar empty, or is it a tip jar people want to steal off the stage at the end of the night?
