Here's a few tips for anyone wanting to play the game, but are confused on where to start or what to do:
I played on king, so it should also work on the other difficulties.
Ignore the reputation:
I couldn't get them to love me in any way or fashion. Heal the sick, give to the poor. They didn't care about that, they only cared about fear. Take all the bribes your support allows you to from the faction impact. It'll help you a lot in the early game with the economy and there doesn't seem to be much of a point in trying to keep up a stat, that will inevitably only go down.
Focus on administration and trade in the start:
First concentrate your efforts towards getting administration to rank 2 (second bar full) as it's needed for a quest that can otherwise bankrupt you early in the game.
A higher trade stat will unlock more economic buildings. Besides not dying, getting your economy started is top priority.
Don't build too many buildings at once (edit):
It'll actually cost you the upkeep, while reaping none of the benefits.
*After another much larger test over several months, they do indeed seem to build at any rate, they feel like doing. You can build as many buildings at once if you want, but it'll still cost you a lot of upkeep.
Level up two buildings in tandem one after the other (for the first ones):
The first level of a building more than often costs you more than it earns. The earnings of the buildings are calculated monthly, despite being noted as weekly earnings. The second level will see some profit of the economic buildings. While upgrading the buildings are not earning anything. Having another building leveling in in tandem, will lessen the economic impact. There'll at least be one earning something.
Don't shy away from fighting: It's a good opportunity to get new recruits, if you have enough military might. Take the easy fights first. Should you be in a tight spot with your support, then it'll greatly aid your support from all the factions, if you kill the survivors.
Questionmark in the treasury after Lord Walter visits:
You need 2 in administration to stop him from stealing from you. Talk to him, by clicking him in the court section, after you successfully cleared the administration check of the treasury tab. Simply finding out about the embezzlement is not enough to stop it, you need to confront him.
Keeping these things in mind should set you up pretty good.