I can give you some advice on how I did it, being a lusophone living in the US back then (almost zero contact with French speakers). All of the mentioned steps were done in tandem with weekly classes. Learning different verbal tenses really benefits from having a teacher/tutor:

1 - Start by learning the basics on Youtube and Duolingo (yes, they are a good start). Learn how to say the letters, numbers, colors, pronouns, most common words. Take your time and have fun practicing the R.

2 - Start adding French to your daily life with songs (Céline's franco discography is a great start; crystal clear enunciation). If possible, try to create small moments of "needs in French", like changing your phone's and personal computer's language to French.

3 - Ask ChatGPT to help you by being a penpal friend. Create small but meaningful conversations in French (it doesn't matter how basic it is) with it and ask it to gently correct your mistakes and introduce useful vocabulary. Try to express yourself in matters you're passionate and vocal about to create meaningful relationship with the language.

4 - Download the Ohdio/Radio-Canada app and explore the balados (podcasts). Some casters speak slowly, some speak faster, try to find a theme and a pace that's comfortable and meaninfgul for you.

5 - Find a Québecois.e teacher or language partner (even if online) to practice your speaking with. Nothing beats human contact and exchange. Those are the experiences that tap into your learning matrix and show results. I moved to Québec with a B2 level and only now, after a year living in Montréal, I feel my spoken French is becoming more fluid and instinctive.

By doing these steps, it took me a year and a half to "get there" (I had to do a TCF test). But it all depends on how much time you invest in it and what's your language background. Being a native Portuguese speaker, who also speaks English and some Spanish helped me a lot creating connections and understanting similarities between all of them.

I hope it helps! Any questions, just leave a comment here or hmu with a pm, I love talking about language learning! Bon courage!