A Skid Steer and a Craigslist Ad w/ Tyler Marks (DT 479)

September 17, 2026

A Skid Steer and a Craigslist Ad w/ Tyler Marks (DT 479)

Tyler Marks is the founder of Marks Clearing and Grading, a North Carolina land clearing and grading contractor he started at 18 with just a skid steer and a Craigslist ad. He grew the company alongside the Raleigh construction boom, buying oversized equipment before he needed it and betting on the market long before he had the projects to justify it.

What started with small grading and clearing jobs grew into an operation supporting roughly 250 families, but Tyler is quick to admit the growth came with plenty of mistakes, bad decisions, and lessons learned the hard way. He explains why owning more equipment doesn’t necessarily mean having a better business, how admitting what he didn’t know helped him earn the trust of experienced operators, and why bringing in leaders more capable than himself became necessary to take the company to the next level. Tyler also shares why he’s focused less on constantly putting out fires and more on “taking the lighters away,” how Marks is developing young employees instead of making them wait years for opportunities, and what it takes to keep growing when the company you started becomes much bigger than you.

Follow Tyler on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-marks-aba499238/

Learn more about Marks Clearing and Grading at: https://marksclearingandgrading.com/

Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices