From the guide (http://www.swcombine.com/guide/index.php?page=2):
12. Over on the left hand side, under Location it will say "Select a Starting Location". You will be brought to the position screen. As a freelancer new to the galaxy, you will only have one choice of location, your homeworld.
Of course, you have to create your character first. The step by step is in the guide at that link, just in case you might have missed something.
Kane, the game is experiencing some technical difficulties and will be back to full capacity soon. The fact that you can't figure out everything probably has to do with the problems currently occurring.