First of all erase everything to get any money you can. Start your entrance tight to a wall as you want to use as little space as possible to build. Always put an information kiosk or two by your park entrance.
You only need 1 mechanic and 1 repair man to start the game, but make sure you assign their jobs correctly. Repair men shouldn't bother mowing grass because it doesn't make that much of a difference at this stage of the game, and just wastes their time. Make them focus on sweeping and dumping trash bins to keep guests happy.
Throw down a superb coaster right by your entrance with high excitement, medium intensity and low nausea. Increase the price up to about $5.50 so that it makes a decent profit. Put somewhat of a large food court right in the middle of your park with everything spread around, so that guests can easily access – and spend money at – it. For example place a drink and food stall with a hat shop or something in a cluster then a few spaces over do the same thing with different shops.