The game pretty much holds your hand through everything in the beginning, telling you what to click and why with options to speed things up using the in-game currency, dobloons.
We've made a decision here to try to get through the game without using these as best we can, at least initially.
After a few of the initial tasks the game starts to open up and expand with more new tasks that are available for your minions to do as they land on the island.
You should aim to keep repeating the tasks to gather more coins, dobloons and party points.
Initially this means repeating:
Paradise PiƱata
and checking the Celebration Station to create the welcome packs for the new minions.
The basic items you collect are useful for fulfilling tasks and creating new items, so be sure to keep your minions busy as best you can.
Look out for new areas and items that unlocked after you level up.
This getting started sequence should get you quickly to around level 4 or 5, then a lot more things will start to open up.
As you progress through the levels gaining party points you will be able to throw a party each time you reach a new level. During the initial levels basically what happens is that a few new things are unlocked and time moves twice as fast for anything that is being created or earned. Initially this only lasts one minute, but as you gain more levels, party time lasts for longer. Utilise this time wisely to boost your production of items.