For a new player, small loot runs or police work are practical starting choices. Once you have a base and the required equipment, add cargo or production; settlement and territory taxes become options when you control property. There is no verified universal dollars-per-hour winner, so choose a route you can fund and finish repeatedly.
Make starter money without a large setup
Looting and selling valuables is the direct criminal route. Focus on a manageable target, leave with the goods, and sell them to a Fence. Collect the payment from the counter promptly: completing the sale does not protect cash left sitting there.
Small robberies and register cash can fund the next outing without committing to an expensive production setup. Prefer an affordable loadout while learning your route. If losing the equipment would stop your next attempt, reduce the amount you put at risk.
Police work is another confirmed income route. It depends on an available position, so treat it as an alternative rather than a guaranteed slot whenever you log in. It is useful to consider if repeated failed robberies are consuming your reserves.
Add cargo or production after establishing a base
Cargo creates a choice between selling a shipment and processing it. Base businesses add another way to earn, but equipment and property are costs you must recover before calling the operation profitable.
Compare opportunities using the money you retain, not only the sale value of the finished load. Include purchases, preparation, and failed deliveries when judging your own results. A large payout after several expensive losses may be worse for your next purchase than a smaller repeatable run.
Avoid buying several production chains at once. Start with one activity you understand, then expand after you know its inputs and where you will sell the result. This is a spending decision, not a claim that one business has a fixed best return.
Keep money before chasing a bigger payout
Open a bank account at Looty Bay Bank as a Civilian and process cash through the Laundering Desk at your base. Laundering takes time. Banked money is protected from theft until the next wipe, so cash earned and money secured are different milestones.
Ownership taxes require a different level of investment. Settlement owners collect a share of tenant activity, while clans controlling territory also receive taxes. Consider these after your ordinary income is working, rather than treating ownership as a shortcut available to a player with no capital.