About us

Humble Beginnings

Emerald Acres had very humble beginnings. It was 1988, I was fresh out of college and took a summer job working for the now-defunct New England Green Co. in Burlington, Ma. Like so many of the larger lawn care companies, N.E. Green was not concerned with quality. After an afternoon of training, I spent the summer spreading granular fertilizer. I had little concern for weeds, insects or anything else that would get in the way of increasing my production and hence my pay. Toward the end of the season, I realized the tremendous opportunity in this industry and took steps to form my own company. I had a great idea, unbounded enthusiasm, and a real commitment to serving, but sadly, no real experience and no funding.

I was able to convince my father, David Boots, to extend the loan of operating capital, all I had to do in return was pay 10% interest and cut his lawn for free all summer long. I guess good business runs in the family. I put down a payment on a truck, rented a tiny office in Framingham, and printed up some promotional material. I was overwhelmed by all the surprise expenses, insurance, phones, advertising, office equipment, etc.. I was wet behind the ears and things were tight, but I was undaunted.

The next step was to develop an effective lawn care program. I wore out my library card on every book available on lawn care and landscaping. My degree in Chemistry helped. Using and mixing chemicals was a piece of cake for me. I kept things together on a shoestring budget for a couple of years, and made plenty of mistakes.