I've been helping a couple people with these over the last year. We've found here in San Francisco that they back bud decently, but that the produce whorls by default and the whorls get worse over time. Eliminate any whorls early. When cutting back to older branches (which you don't really have) be more cautious as these don't react like junipers even though they look similar in foliage.
As Paul and a couple others said, you have no trunk to speak of, which is the heart and soul of any bonsai composition, so growing out intelligently is needed.
Branch dieback on many species is a problem, so be prepared for frustration.
I'd suggest that you try to find something with a larger and more interesting trunk to work on at the same time you try developing this one.