What's keeping you up at night? Send us your most pressing franchise questions, and columnist Doug Ducey, along with the editors of Inc.com, will hunt down the answers.

Question: I work full-time and want to start a franchise in another state while outsourcing its manager. What do you suggest I do?

Thank you for your question. It's a good one, and many prospective franchisees wonder if owning a store in a state or town away from where they live is a sound business decision. Some franchisees can make this work with great results while others find it a difficult struggle. Before you decide to open a store far from where you live and work, ask yourself these questions:

• What are my short- and long-term goals for this business?
• Will I always be a passive owner, or do I plan to get involved once it's up and running?
• Do I have a manager who will care about the success of my store and the satisfaction of its customers as much as I do?
• Will I be able to meet this manager's salary expectations along with the other financial responsibilities of owning a business?
• If something should go wrong, how quickly can I be there to solve the problem and how long can I afford to stay?

Many of Cold Stone's most successful franchisees are very involved in the daily operation of their stores. It just makes things easier, particularly in the beginning when everyone is in learning mode. When it comes to your employees and your customers, there's no substitute for the owner and his/her leadership.

Have a question for our Experts?

Use the form below to enter your question, complete with contact information so that we might follow up and/or respond to you directly. We won't be able to get to all of your questions, but we will try to address as many as possible each month, posting the Q&As in the Franchise Resource Center.

Your Question -- Please make it no longer than 100 words

Full Name

Company Name

City, State

State... Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Your Email Address: