Join IMG, GMG or some shipping faction. Bowex suffers most from official ones but in general every one could use some help out there. They will tell you where the profit is and will offer you convoys and escorts for increased safety.
The greater risk = more money so start with something simple and void of warzones / popular pirate bottlenecks without as much as a scout to tell you path's clear. For me, I made a buck trading H-Fuel from Sigmas and bringing something back to them in return. Keep in mind, some route may take you trading at least 3 commodities before you make a loop.
There is no best route. Trade commodities and enjoy exploring systems or find a miner and sell ores if you want to earn a little bit more. In any case, it will take time. However you can use FLCompanion to optimize your routes.
"It was the 23rd century, mankind's darkest hour. [...]"