get a merchant.. every little bit helps especially at the begining of the game
upgrade the merchant to smith.. u just need lvl 60 at minimum to get your forge skills into place.. you dont need refine..
find refining blacksmiths and make deals w/ them.. you may buy at 1.5X the normal price.. you will still earn trust me (unless you really suck and lady luck hates you.
when you have materials just keep forging and keep getting materials..
where ever you can earn take it.. if some1 asks a discount give it to him as long as you earn twice as much as the weapon creation..

forge forge and forge...
need even more zeny.. get steel refine.. not iron or stone craft.. get it later if you need it.. then refine.. charge 2k per success. mainly your customers will be hunters and priests.. and dont scam.. your reputation will be your strenght..

while your at it.. find a knight guild.... they will find materials for you and forge for them.. they will be your best benefactors especially if you get hacked.... and the OC DC they may ask at times brings in a little more zeny and unusual items if you know what and how to exploit these...

if you dont have a smith.. try your luck killing the same creature over and over again in a specific dungeon where rares you want to hunt to have a better drop rate.. example ss cards are more often found at pyramids lvl 2 than at payon lvl 4.. dont argue w/ me here this is right.

a merchant can earn you a minimum of 100k a day if you leave it vending for a few hours... vend the right stuff at the right time... like fly wings at 50% DC at alde during the wee hours of morning etc... or even rosaries and belts.. if you have a lvl 7 + vend on you

merchants really suck at battle but notice thier the richest ppl at the begining of a game despite the fact they really don have any rares...

Discounting things at weapon shops can go a long way at a beggining of a server but towards the middle of the server your better off lvling up instead..

another way of getting rich.. get a wizard(this is already too obvious) kill alarms etc. when ever they drop elu and clips you get instant gratification especially at abnormal xp / drop rate times.

if your a merchant lvling up.. never never sit down in the battle field unless you have 30 + vit.. it would be a waste of time.

Take this from a person who has made 11 smiths and forged over 2500+ elementals in an online server...

one more thing... make a character for PVM and another for PVP... it saves time if you want to hunt and you also have fun.

If your a priest or priestess, for items you will rely heavily on the OC of your loot and the good blessings of your guildmates. so i suggest you make a merchant for your primary expenses like gems you will need this especially when your offline.