Ok this might be a little weird, but since FFXI requires alot of gills to be invested in a craft in order to aquire a +1 and sell it for profit, why not create a stock exchange system in the game. For example each city has its own stock and you can buy cheap and sell high later for profit, or the opposite if your are unlucky. Just a thought can't really think how it would be implemented.
And this should be an extra source of income since you need a main source to make money in the first place.