You dream of being in a great band, with good musicians, travel the world and being digged by everyone who listens to your music, as a beginner coming into the music scene, it seems the perfect formula, which is to all get together, write a few lyrics, add music to it, repeat a few times, rehearse, book a few gigs, then hey presto, within a little while things start happening.
In reality this rarely is the case, a few bands can work to that formula and be committed to see it through, in between the bright side of this business here are a few guidelines that should be followed through as there is a level of commitment, loyalty, reliability and dedication that is required from every member within the band/group unit.
I would start by mentioning that time is very crucial within music as well as in any other form of business, if you are booked for rehearsals, studio sessions or important engagements do try and turn up on time and keep to the appointment, these studios are are paid for by the hour and a half decent studio isn't cheap (cheaper studios tend to have poorer quality equipment and sound) adding to that when band members have to wait and hang around for another member to arrive it can be frustrating, if you all have to dip into your pockets to pay for the studio fees it makes it easier for everyone to handle, but I've witnessed members leaving sessions early and 'forgetting' to pay up or not bringing enough money, this doesn't help at all and if it continues the remaining members paying off the balance start to loose motivation.
Another factor is dealing with big egos in the group, this isn't easy, as time goes by personal problems can develop, communication becomes harder, domination and commands become an issue, if this does become a problem it should be dealt with as soon as possible and if the member with an ego can't let it go just look for a suitable replacement, on the other hand if the 'ego' happens to be a band leader I would suggest you take your hard earned talent to some other worthy outfit.
When you start working with a band, sit down together and write down some key points of the do's and don'ts, rules, dress codes etc and always stick to them, it does take dedication but it will be rewarding in the end, never allow slackness, egos, or bad attitudes to enter into the structure, like in a lot of instanses if a problem does surface, all get together and deal with it, being a great musician won't make you a professional but having a professional attitude will make you a great musician.