are you on a trial or full account?

I only use mining, a good source of cash. I couldn't keep my blacksmithing up to match my level, so I stopped after lvl20. Make sure you have 'find minerals' activated so you can see ore nodes on your mini map, most towns will have a forge to smelt at.

Guilds are good for having a lot of players at your disposal but are mostly organising for instanced dungeons, raids or PVP.