[saalweachter]

There's nothing wrong with adding a partner. The family farm adds (and loses) partners every generation. Having an extra partner can be great, and it's perfectly reasonable to prefer a partner to an employee. (Or vice versa.) If what you really want is a partner, then you'll be a lot happier if you find a partner and treat him as such.

If, on the other hand, you do not really want a partner, you should be honest with yourself about what you are looking for. Maybe you really want two or three employees. Maybe you need one full time employee and a few part time employees. Maybe you need some combination of employees and contractors, who can respond to extraordinary problems and then go away when there is no work to do. (IT tends to have a problem with the latter. It's like expecting the cleaning staff to do plumbing just because you don't have enough plumbing jobs to keep a plumber on staff, and they both work with bathrooms.)

To sum it up with a bit of sexist humor, if what you need is a wife, either find a wife or hire a cook, a maid, an accountant, and a mistress. Don't hire a cook and expect him to sleep with you and do your taxes.