No rush. Slowly earn influence until you can hit 6k. Sell random NPCs in batches (
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though it's missing Helo atm). Keep non-unique males and females with the Workaholic trait as long as they do not have the Addiction trait. You could use 10 of them. Build a gazebo in your backyard and upgrade it once for the pool. Hold pool parties to raise their affection up. You can also hold dinner events once per day, between 4pm to 8pm. Assign some maids, turn off floor crawlers, select all guys, and do some socializing and joking. It can raise their affection. Improve your combat team and start the Kasey Park Temple of Yidhra and the space hulk quests.
Now this is important: you can capture and sell prowlers for a fixed price ($7,500 each). Temple of Yidhra has three of them and you can capture all 3. Bring whipping canes to do the last hit and make sure you have enough rope. The Kasey Park space marines are also processed as prowlers. You will know why when you talk to the female you can capture from that quest. You need the 6k influence to sell them. To sell them, visit the Hunt Research lab in Emerald City once, at 6k influence, and they will send you a slave request (Project Erebos). Now you can sell prowlers. Go back to your house, go to NPC Menu, click the prowler's image ---> Actions ---> Project Erebos and sell them. You can use this money (and take a $25k loan from the Crystal Heights bank) to invest in your income (or buy Aria if you want).
The best way to invest this income is to build a Workshop, set it to Manufacturing, and assign the 10 workaholic slaves to it via the Jobs and Titles page in the NPC Menu page 3-5. Assign a Foreman too. Leave it for one day and it will generate production points. Buy discounted materials from Aimee's Goods and use the production points generated to manufacture knives. Sell the knives to the market next to your house. You can proceed to other items later, rifles or auto rifles in Hamah Bay. Upgrade your workshop if you can, especially the top bar of upgrades. You do not need more than one Workshop. I am doing fine with one, but some people will go for two or three, some people will want none (Averil's quest reward, Zapin Fields, where you can produce a lot of food is an alternative). Either way, the money from the prowlers and the loan can get you a decent start. One workshop just means you would not lack for money and can easily get Aria in days after building one.