Aplier Shivra,
First, welcome!
Second, don't listen to all these naysayers. You do whatever you want, and you have fun doing it.
It might be an easier strategy to find what you and your friend are comfortable doing, and then investigate what RP can stem from that that causes you the least amount of issues.
Don't forget capsuleers are fickle, and change loyalties all the time. And lie, and cheat, and steal.
If someone gives you shit for 'i saw you running a mission for so and so' then you can just as easily tell them to go to hell and mind their own business IC. It's your word against there's in the court of public opinion, and to be honest a lot of other people aren't going to be -that- interested in that kind of thing.
Standings and missions are an awful thing to base your RP around. I'm about -10 with CONCORD and kill people in Khanid region every day for years, and yet RKN still wants to give me level 5 missions and save the Kingdom.
Moral of the story, don't sweat the small stuff, have fun with your friend, and as you two get more comfortable with what you want to do, start steering your in game activities in those directions.