>>>>>I will make a note of contacting you (off-line) when the time comes that I won't be able to support my vertical.
>>>>
>>>>A bad point in time to start looking. Do it at least 3 years in advance as to not have to bargain under pressure and have more options to make transition a tandem work effort.
>>>
>>>All depends how many customers I will still have by the "point" when I need to find a replacement.
>>
>>Actually, your replacement may need several months just to get to know the way you did things, where's what in the code, what's the app doing etc. Specially in a vertical, which may get very rich in features. The last one like that took me years to get to most of the stuff, and there are still areas in it which I never visited, let alone touched. And working with a partner may get you not just ideas on how to improve the app and keep up with the times, but may actually bring more customers. So I'd take Tamar's 3 years seriously.
>
>The key is the "partner" which is quite different from an "employee."

If the person is to take over when you retire, I'd consider that a partnership. Or at least long term employment. But it's up to you how you treat your employees.