Small steps pay big dividends, says Trulaske College of Business grad

If it’s one thing Macy Bean knows, it’s how to sow the seeds of a successful business relationship: start early, plan ahead, and continue to nurture that relationship over time. When Bean arrived at the University of Missouri’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business as a freshman from Liberal, Missouri, where she had been one of only 28 in her graduating class, she dug in and quickly put down roots. Bean, who graduated from Mizzou this spring with dual degrees in economics and business administration, is now harvesting the rewards of her steadfast commitment to growing her professional connections.

When did you know you wanted to study business?

Growing up, I watched my parents run a business, and that intrigued me. They're farmers, so I watched them handle finances, and I started asking questions. They’d let me come to some of their meetings at the bank or with their financial advisors. And I just became really interested, to the point where I was asking the professionals questions, so they all pointed at me, like, hey, maybe you should take these interests and apply them to school. So that's what I ended up doing.

From my perspective, business school, especially one with lots of connections and opportunities like Trulaske, grants you the freedom to be flexible and change your mind while still being on a sure path.

What led you to Mizzou?

Mizzou felt very familiar — my sister was currently enrolled. I wanted to go to a bigger school, since my hometown was very small. I wanted to switch it up a little and still be in-state. I found a lot of helpful financial opportunities here, as well. That's the path I was drawn to. Mizzou really just checked all those boxes for me. 

What was it like, arriving on a big campus after graduating from a class of 28?

It was definitely a big school. But to me, that was exciting. I just saw a lot of opportunity in that, because I came from a background of knowing everyone's middle name, basically. There's nothing wrong with that, but I wanted a change of pace for sure. 

So you came here from a small school, small town. How did you carve out a niche for yourself at Trulaske?

Starting conversations with people in those really big lecture classes, finding common ground with other people, making connections. Starting at Summer Welcome is helpful, so you’ll recognize people in your classes and rekindle and reconnect. The business school hosts ‘clubbing night’ early in the semester. All these organizations and clubs host tables, and you can mingle and see which ones you'd like to join. That was a really good opportunity to get a scope of where I wanted to fall in and to meet people, and also a good opportunity to network with professors. 

What classes most shaped your time in the Trulaske College of Business?

I've had a lot of wonderful classes, and a lot of wonderful, wonderful professors here. But ironically, it was the Business Administration 2500 class, which I think they've combined with 1500 since I was a freshman. I was a little ambitious. I wanted to get more credits out of the way, so I took a couple classes over the summer. Business Administration 2500, I actually took that the summer before my sophomore year, and thank God I did. The thesis of that class was essentially focusing on networking and really just getting comfortable cold-calling or getting your name out there and having those hard conversations. The whole premise of that course was to select three businesses of your choosing and to email back and forth and schedule an informational interview where you were the interviewer and you were asking questions to understand how they operate and how they ran things. More or less just get your foot in the door, but also develop a deeper understanding of the whole world of business in a very brief eight-week scope.

At the time, I wasn't sure of any companies where I wanted to work. I knew I had an interest in finance and financial planning. You know the cliché — I like helping people. I reached out to 49 Financial and at the time, I didn't realize who I had emailed. I was just looking for the first contact that comes up. I ended up emailing the vice president. Oops, right? Tim Rogers, the vice president of 49 Financial, graciously emailed back and forth with me for a couple weeks until he had some availability. We ended up having a wonderful conversation. Got all my questions answered, and it just continued naturally and we really hit it off.

At the end he said, ‘Wow, you really remind me of someone in our office. Would you mind if I connected you?’ I was like, ‘Awesome, put me down.’ 

I went to a career fair for a couple extra credit points, and I had an awesome conversation with a representative named Grace. I get to the informational interview with the person at 49 Financial, and it turns out it’s the same woman I met at the career fair. We had a great conversation, which evolved into building a professional relationship over the next three years. In fall 2024, my first semester as a senior, I get a call from her. This is when she started asking more seriously if I wanted to join their team. This was August, so what a blessing it was to basically have a job offer at the start of my senior year. By November I had finished the formal interviews.

I was honestly just going to the career fair for the extra credit, but I will say, that event and the series of those business administration classes are ultimately what led me to that connection. Maybe I would have found it otherwise, but it definitely offered a direct path, cutting all the twists and turns. 

Some people might say it seems like fate or it was just meant to be, but really it was you putting in the hard work. And the company was diligent about maintaining a relationship with you throughout your college career. 

Exactly. Leaving that first career fair I was shocked. Like wow, this actually works. Maybe it is worth more than those couple extra credit points. Maybe this will actually pay off somewhere. 

What advice would you give to students who are just starting their time here?

Don't hesitate to reach out, whether it's to a professor or following up with that person at the career fair. Just make those connections. It's a really easy thing to do, but it's also a really easy thing to skip, unfortunately. Even if you don't think anything will come of it, you never know. Those small steps really add up, so start taking them now.

Bean is scheduled to start her new role as an adviser with 49 Financial in June. She’ll be housed in their office in northwest Arkansas, which puts her closer to her southern Missouri roots.