My strategy:
1) Buy a faction module and plant it on an abandoned base or planet first thing.
2) Create faction and claim the system for the 12x mining bonus.
3) Build a small salvager ship with starting stuff, or start mining asteroids with personal salvager.
4) Build and place a factory and capsule refinery on station/planet.
5) Sell ore or convert into building blocks
6) Convert all asteroid minerals (lukrah, varis, etc) into carved minerals (they are more valuable this way).
7) Build a missile/beam fighter or buy an Isanth Mb and upgrade the shielding system and add radar jammer. (The Isanths have no shield rechargers) Pirates all have really crappy aim when you have radar jammer on.
8) Go fire at a pirate base and wait for the pirate reinforcements, then blow apart a few pirates with Lock on missiles.
9) Gather dropped loot and sell or use.