So what I'm a Newbie

[Eezy Bordone]

Ok, I've just downloaded this thing and it looks pretty kool. It would have been nice if I could have moved the tutorial menus around instead of having to close/reopen them everytime I needed to do something it told me, but that is neither here nor there.

So now I'm a few dozen turns into the game and I'm realizing any colonies I've started outside my starting system don't produce anything - whenever I try to build a facility it says completion time NEVER. What do I need to get these planets to produce?

[Master Belisarius]

You need to send a transport with some population to your new colonies.
IF your colony ship have a transport cargo comp., and you give the order 'colonize' to your colony ship, the ship automatically will load the population.

[Eezy Bordone]

Awesome! Thank you.

[Psitticine]

Actually, the colonization component comes with built-in cargo space for colonists. It is a good idea to put another cargo module on for additional starting population but the colony module itself will carry some folks, as long as you remember to either launch it with a Colonize command or manually transfer in the colonists at point.

[Comar]

For the colonies you already have, build a transport ship and move population to these planets. They will then start producing.