How to build a good FC (looking for tips)

[Kerii]

Since we're sharing failure stories...

Sometime ago I tried to start a free company with my girlfriend. I gave her a "Co-Leader" position of authority and recruited an officer or two who presented themselves as having experience from other games. At first things went well. Myself and one of the officers took shots at external recruiting, and my girlfriend tried to recruit people in game. I also expressed an interest in my girlfriend providing basic crafting services (ARR leveling gear) to members who were new players for free. I had hoped it would serve as a way for her to bond with them since XIV is her first MMO. A bit more time passed and I noticed that the small flow of gil we had been receiving, that wasn't my own input, suddenly dried up. When I asked, several members stated that they weren't comfortable giving money any more because they didn't like how my girlfriend was using it.

This spurred me to dig into the situation further. I discovered that she had started making backdoor deals with members requesting "extra" crafting services and was pocketing large sums of gil in the exchange. When I called her and the worst offender out on it they claimed that they wouldn't do it anymore. Privately, I asked her to at least put the money in the company chest. A few weeks later, when I thought things had calmed down, our main officer suddenly abandoned the FC wholesale. From what I gathered he ditched us for a more raid focused FC who was trying to poach our members, only to quit that one a week in.

As I investigated the fallout from these two situations, I came to realize that the shifty officer and my girlfriend had all but sabotaged the good will I had worked for two months to build with my members. Some had been given conflicting stories, some found themselves in entangling alliances, and some were just let down that the FC wasn't working out as intended.

In the end I found myself in a bad situation. I would either have to kick my girlfriend from the FC for misconduct like I would any other member, or find a way to deal with her melodrama without involving the other members. After calling a meeting and discussing it with all but one of the remaining members, I came to the conclusion that the best way to solve the problem was to let my girlfriend see exactly what her handiwork would produce. I turned the master rank over to her and left the company. Over the following weeks every single member of the company messaged me to inform me that I had been right. The FC was a husk, she never even spoke to them, and that they were each leaving for better groups. A few joined the FC that had been poaching our members, some simply quit the game for good, and some broke ties with us entirely after that.

The moral of the story here is that there is only one guild master. Whether you want someone you trust to help you, or want something more like a democracy, the guild master always has the final say. Members who don't agree with you will leave, and those who can acknowledge that fact will stay. Not only that, but as many of these stories remind us, always vet your officers and trusted members. If I had been more diligent about that flakey officer I could have prevented a lot of that situation from happening.

As for my personal advice...

Quantity doesn't equal quality. A 512 member FC where only 5 people log in isn't appealing to most players. In the same vein, a small FC that feels like a clique who excludes new members entirely is just as bad. You'll have to strike a balance for yourself as leader to have the kind of group you want.

A guild is a reflection of their guild master. If you are friendly, active, helpful, and welcoming then your members will be too. If you're only in the FC for irrelevant bonuses and superficial reasons then they will be too. Establish your goals and rules early. Set up a simple website you can direct new members to. Make sure the information provided there is correct and that they can see your activities. Be willing to spread a wide net when looking for members and embrace the ideas your veteran members have. There's nothing wrong with trying and failing, but the same can't be said for people who only give their attempts a partial effort.