Brand new...need advice please

Hello all. This is my very first post on these forums. I'm glad to be here. Seems to be a very informative place. So far I've completed all 4 tutorials and skimmed through the book a bit. I started my very first game this afternoon. I went with a small random map and set my enemy on "easy" just to get a feel for the game and to sort of learn as I go the first time around. When the game started I had no idea as to where to begin. There I was at my starting world with 2 visible planets in the near distance....and all that empty space! I'm just looking for some advice on how to get started. What are the things I need to do first? I'm not asking for someone to play the game for me...I just need a little direction getting started. Thank you very much to any and all who may reply!