by Patrick White

Photos by Joël Bénard

Somewhat apropos of his name, Gerald Boot got his start in the landscape maintenance business by pounding the pavement. "In 1981, every evening in March after I finished work in a factory, I knocked on doors in my neighborhood offering lawn maintenance services," he recalls. By April, the business was up and running. "Even without business cards or any professional documentation I had about 40 clients during the first year," he says.

Today, Boot’s Landscaping & Maintenance Ltd. has grown from a one-man operation to a team of 80, offering four-season services in Toronto, Ontario, and surrounding areas. Boot estimates that about 30% of the company’s time is spent on winter maintenance, 30% on summer maintenance and 30% on landscape designs/installations. The remaining 10% is devoted to irrigation, done under the banner of a separate company called Ecosense Irrigation, which was started in 2012.

Instead of focusing on advertising and marketing, Boot says honest hard work, professionalism and attention to detail are what’s grown the company. That and some help from above. "As a Christian I believe that our lives and business are guided and directed by God. Everything that has happened to us had a reason and purpose."

Playing off strengths

Oftentimes "family business" means a parent and child or husband and wife working together. Boot’s Landscaping takes the meaning several steps further – the company has been led every step of the way by members of Gerald’s family and extended family.

"As the company grew, I knew that for me to have time with my family I would need a business partner." Gerald Boot.

His brother-in-law Jack VandeRee, who had been working with the company while gaining formal horticulture training at Humber College, was the perfect fit. He is now the company’s vice president.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Looking at the staff of Boot’s Landscaping & Maintenance Ltd., you might need a family tree to trace how many relatives have contributed to the company’s success. Having so many family members involved has made it easier to delegate and trust others, Boot says. And he’s taken two steps to ensure it doesn’t create interpersonal problems: treat family members as you would other employees and keep business at the office.

Theresa’s brother Anthony Kampen (who had worked for the company during summers) joined the company full-time in 2000 after graduating from University of Guelph. He slowly began taking over Boot’s role as manager of the grounds maintenance division and is also a vice president today.

"I always wanted my position replaced with a more qualified and capable person – Anthony is much more capable than I am," Boot says.

Delegation opens new doors

While many company founders struggle with letting go of control, Boot made it a priority to find good leaders and trust them to make decisions. "I guess I’m a very trusting guy. I’ll give people responsibility. I’ll check on them; if they measure up, they’ll get more responsibility," he says. "If you can’t delegate, then there’s no point in growing the business, because you can’t do everything yourself."

That perspective has paid off; so much so that Boot now tries to disappear for much of each winter. "My philosophy is to work so that we can live, not the other way around. When I see snow coming, I head to Florida!" he says. It’s a luxury made possible by the team that now oversees winter operations – his son, John Boot; his son-in-law, Dennis Vanderveen; and 20-year company veteran Brian Streight.

"They work together to organize the routes and make sure we have enough equipment. Dennis manages the sidewalk crews while John and Brian are responsible for the road crews," says Boot. "They’re younger and more tech-savvy than I am. I’ll still assist with equipment purchasing, but those three guys basically run our snow operation."

THINKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

Gerald Boot has seen an extraordinary amount of technological change since founding Boot’s Landscaping & Maintenance Ltd. in 1981:

Communication. Boot recalled having to find a phone booth to call his wife toward the end of snowstorms. "I had a pager for a while and eventually got a mobile phone with an attached battery pack the size of a shoe box." Despite the prominent use of smartphones today, Boot still relies on an older technology to communicate with the crews. "Two-way radios still work great as a way for crews to report when sites are completed or to report what still needs to be done."

Weather forecasting and technology. "When I started there was only a radio forecast to listen to," he says. The company now contracts with a private company for forecasts and weather data, which can also be used when dealing with slip and fall claims. At least five years ago, the company began installing weather cameras at client sites that give pavement and air temperature readings and a visual picture of the area.

Industry advocate

With capable leaders in key positions, Boot has been able to scale back his day-to-day role and devote significant time to helping advance the industry.

He is chair of Landscape Ontario’s snow sector group, which scored a major legislative victory in January 2021 when the Ontario provincial government reduced the statute of limitations for slip and fall claims to 60 days. "LO played a major role in getting that bill passed," Boot says.

Self-insurance

In addition to his work with legislative reform and advocating for a national snow and ice standard, Gerald Boot has been at the forefront of an innovative approach to insurance. After receiving a "go away" renewal quote from his insurance provider in 2019, Boot joined a new self-insured retention (SIR) program. "It was just getting off the ground, and for the first year we were one of only two companies enrolled in the program. Today there are over 30 companies in our group," he explains.

The SIR has an insurance company that does the behind-the-scenes administrative work, as well as its own claims adjusting firm and legal defense team. To participate in the SIR, member companies must follow standardized business practices (audits are conducted every year and non-compliant companies are removed from the group). New participants must be recommended by the program administrator and approved by the member companies.

In the event of a claim, the first $25,000 is paid by the contractor. Then claim costs come out of the self-insurance reserve funded by the participating companies. Once that money is gone, the insurance company pays. If the reserve money is not used up it comes back to each member company, prorated based on the amount they paid in. If the insurance company never needs to pay out, a percentage of each member companies’ premiums are returned to them.

"The main benefit is that a contractor has full control of any claim against their own company," Boot says, noting that moving to the SIR was one of the best business decisions he’s ever made. "If you’re going to do this, you’ve got to have a good litigation team. You need lawyers who want to win."

Gerald is also the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) representative responsible for advocating for the development of a national snow and ice management standard.

The effort began in 2020, when stakeholders in the Canadian snow and ice management industry approached the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Group, which agreed the idea had merit. The CNLA funded a detailed study that identified key concerns that could be addressed with national snow and ice standards:

• There is no minimum level of competency required for contractors
• There is no regulatory framework for protecting the environment and the public
• There is significant environmental impact from overuse of salt by untrained contractors
• There is an unfair burden placed on competent contractors, who are required to bear all liability for slips and falls

 

"It is very clear that there is a need for a national snow and ice standard," Boot says. While CSA Group is currently holding off on advancing the process, he is hopeful that progress will resume in the near future.

Boot says it is an honor to be able to give back to the industry that he has devoted his working life to, and notes that the experiences he’s gained as a volunteer have been personally and professionally rewarding.

"I’ve learned a lot and met many people who run successful businesses. Being involved gives you the ability to find out what is happening in the industry and what to watch out for in the future," he says, urging others to get involved with industry associations and advocacy efforts.

"I’ve always treated volunteerism as a job, being part of a team, just like having a paid position since people rely on a volunteer to produce just as with a paid person. The only way that I could properly volunteer was to have a business that could run well with me away."