There just need to be more options and I think 0.8a is one of the first steps towards that. If you don't want to engage in combat you can survey planets or scavenge resources, ships, items, etc. from exploration, but there needs to be more ways of making money besides the obvious combat, trade and exploration. Perhaps spying on factions by watching fleet movements while staying hidden, sabotaging enemy markets, arming & supplying friendly rebel groups with weapons and food or transporting passengers. These are just twists on the standard 3 ways of making money but they add some interesting flavor.
More interaction with enemies is a good idea as well, perhaps pirates or hostile fleets could be bribed to leave you alone (but not if the faction is super angry with the player). An insurance plan on ships in your fleet could help ease the pain of lost ships (as long as your transponder was on when it was lost, and the ship was legally acquired) by paying out a fraction of what it was worth. Nexelerin already does this and it really cushions the blow.
Just my 2 cents.