The way to make a guild profitable for the founder/elders/certain people is to set up a large monthly fee (say, 10 gold per month, or more) for those on the bottom of the pyramid, and then have a large monthly grant for those on top. Then you need a compelling reason for people to join the guild (such as only handing out lordships and other positions to those in the guild). Having a fee to move up the pyramid helps too--possibly with very large sums to move up the rungs, with corresponding decreases in the monthly fee as they move up the rungs.
