Originally Posted by
Canadane
Take up a job such as mining. I think it's the most profitable way to earn gil as there's very little investment you need to give it, other than time.
Plunk our rocks and sell them. The higher level stuff, heck even the mid level stuff sells really nicely. Lots of crafters are lazy and simply buy the materials they need instead of gathering them themselves. So if you have 99 silver ore, and someones looking to make silver, hardsilver, ingots, etc, they may just buy your stack!
Once you're comfortable with that, then perhaps take up a craft, such as blacksmith or armourer, or goldsmithing. You can use your own materials and make stuff worth a lot more.
Don't forget about your retainer. Assign them a gathering job and they can grab materials for you when you're feeling lazy yourself.