TL;DR at the bottom
I run a shop in a pretty specialized field of automotive work where we are regarded as one of the best in our industry.
I came in when it had only been operational for 6 months and had one other full time employee. Within the first year I was taking the initiative to take on responsibilities wherever I noticed holes in the operation and within 2 years I was recognized as the guy in charge only below the owner. Nearly everything on the operational/management side that has helped us grow to where we are I have either lead, developed systems, or implemented policies. I did all of this while keeping a full time work load on the actual vehicles we work on. To this day I still wear many hats and that's just kind of life in a smaller business I guess.
In the early years I took a pay cut from what I was doing to get into this business because I was passionate about it. I put in many hours unpaid and many overtime hours at regular pay. Over the years that has all gotten better and I was always reassured there would be significant appreciation for sticking it out through the tough times and being loyal and essentially that I would be taken care of with no real specifics of what that would look like.
Well here I am 10 years later and the business is doing great(I see and track all the financials) I have successfully hounded the owner for health and 401k within the past few years.
I make a comparable salary to what I could get walking into almost any other more general automotive shop. I have no bonus system unlike those shops(although I've been told for years a bonus system is getting worked out) There's a lot of talk about how everyone is family there and if you put into the business and give your all that it will pay off big.
After 10 years I can't help but feel like I put that time into building someone else's life and business and watch everything get vastly better for them while I'm just maintaining and trying to figure out how to support my family and maybe someday be able to retire.
Don't get me wrong, I know that's how it works when the owner is the one putting in the most risk. I'm doing better than I was 10 years ago as well. But had I put those 10 years into another career or established company I'm confident I would be much better off than I am now.
There are plenty of other issues that Im sure have influenced how I feel about all of this which I won't get into for now. I'm no longer feeling happy or fulfilled in my job and have begun exploring options, but I also don't want to throw away 10 years of work.
TL;DR
Am I wrong to feel entitled to more?
Does it mean anything that I came in when the business was barely operational and have been an absolutely crucial part of the businesses success?
Or am I just an employee and need to get over myself?