There are a number of factors that contributes to success of a venture. From choosing the target audience to providing quality products and services, effective marketing and hiring the right resources, there are plenty of elements which add to the value of your business to make it the best in the ever-growing and competitive world. For people who strive to become experts or professional in this field, it is important that they learn about all the tricks of the trade. So the question is, what is the best way of gathering the knowledge of running a business or become an expert?

While a number of people think that getting a formal education in business is the right way to become a business expert, others feel that your real life exposure is enough to teach you everything that you need to know about running an establishment. In the world of business, there are a number of popular names that have not received any formal education and have still succeeded, while there are also successful people who have received the best education from Ivy League colleges and are running excellent business. So how do you decide the best way to acquire knowledge for business?

Real Life Exposure

When you rely solely on deriving knowledge of real life exposure, there are certain advantages and disadvantages that come with it.

Pros:

• When you are working in an establishment or running or own venture, you get the opportunity of doing all the tasks on your own, understand all the functionalities right from meeting people, production, manufacturing, sales, marketing and all the other tasks. This gives you a first-hand experience of the business world which is very important. One you get a grip on all the aspects of business, you can gradually grow to a prominent name in your field.
• You get to meet new people and that boosts your networking. Interaction with already established individuals helps you understand your field and you get to learn a lot from them and use the ideas in your business.

Cons:

• One of the biggest disadvantages of depending only on real life exposure is that, initially you are not aware of the functionality of a business. This can lead to an extremely slow growth of your business and sometimes, lack of knowledge can cause loss. While you might learn over a period of time, but in the initial years, the lack of a formal education can work to your disadvantage.

Formal Education/Books

In India, there are a number of reputed institutions that offer MBA programs designed to make you an expert in the business field. Here is how pursuing this business program can help you in establishing your career in the said field:

Pros:

• Pursuing a course like MBA gives you the advantage of getting holistic training on different kinds of functionalities and activities under the supervision of experienced faculties.
• With a strong faculty, you will be able to clear all sorts of doubts and take their help whenever it is required and learn from them
• With an MBA degree you are qualified to associate with some of the best business establishments across the globe. It gives you an opportunity to open various career options which are not otherwise possible without any formal education.
• From attending guest lectures to getting an opportunity to work on different projects and even have an internship, these experiences you get within the protective environment of your college, can work tremendously to your advantage.

Cons

With some institutions, they don’t provide exposure or impart practical knowledge to run a business. Doing so will only make the student an expert in theory and may not be able to work when they start off business career. This can greatly work to their disadvantage.

Here management colleges like ICFAI Business School (IBS) come in the scenario where they provide CASE based learning, which plays a vital role when it comes to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and industry exposure. Formal education, such as MBA or reading books and getting a real life exposure, all these factors together make an individual an expert in the business field. Therefore, individuals who are planning to make a career must understand the significance of both aspects, i.e. business education and real life experience. To attain the balance one must choose a college or an institution that helps you strike a balance between the two. This way you will not only get to have an in-depth knowledge and theoretical understanding of running a business and its various functionalities, but also simultaneously get to put the acquired knowledge to practical use under the guidance of an expert. This leaves you enough room to correct mistakes, and based on your experience you can build or create your own venture. Thus a balance of both is what you need to succeed in the business world.