I've finally managed to get my first fort up and running and my current situation is as follows.
I seem to have the bare basics more or less sorted. I've got the fort itself dug out, I've got a farm churning out plump helmets, cave wheat and sweet pods. The living quarters are almost done, just waiting for the coffers to complete. I've got an office for my manager dwarf and big fuckoff dining hall complete with kitchen and still. I made sure to build a refuse pile outside and the essential workshops are up and running (carpentry, masonry, mechanics and crafting), my carpenter is churning out bins and barrels. Short term priority for now is preparing for the trade caravans to start arriving (I.E. Trade depot on the surface and a few bins full of various stone crafted goods) and some fortifications around the entrance to the fort (basic wall and a drawbridge dealie). So far, the only glaring problem is that my hunter doesn't have a crossbow of any sort, and as such is about as useful as a really useless thing. That ought to be fixed fairly soon.
If anyone has a critique of my build so far, do let me know.