Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Xavier Vizcarra. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Xavier, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My father started as a finish/sprayer in an old factory from the company formerly known as Early American. The factories have a different process because they have a different person for each and every step of wood finishing and refinishing. After some time, My father decided to venture on his own and started to do his own jobs, although starting was not easy… He managed to get his foot in the door to many professional businesses and began to offer something no one else was willing to do… Bringing the finishing to the customer.

After many years of working with my Father, He encouraged me to venture on my own. after sometime, I was very blessed and landed an opportunity to work in one of Puerto Rico’s finest hotels, The Vanderbilt. I maintain the properties overall appearance and restore all the furniture inside the restaurant 1919. Over time, I have worked in various places such as the San Juan Museum of Art, Caribe Hilton Hotel and Pikayo restaurant Owned by Iron Chef champion, Chef Wilo Benet. In PR, life was good and had blessed me with opportunities to push Fine Wood Finishing forward. Unfortunately, PR was hit with one of the worst natural disasters to ever happen… On September 2017, The Island was hit with Category 5 Hurricane Maria. Our home was destroyed, our shop was flooded, family and friends were all urgently affected. It was then I had to make a choice, since my older siblings had all already been living in South Florida for years, My wife and I, decided to move to Broward county. It was not an easy move; as everything else in my life, it’s been a challenge, but one I will be forever grateful for.

As time passed… With years of experience we have sharpened our craft and made it our mission to set the bar on quality in this once dying industry. Our goal is simple. To allow us to keep your property or business looking like new and well maintained. Just as you’d hire a pool guy or a gardener, We can take the damaged pieces and make them look as good as new! This is also why we have offered maintenance and contracts successfully, to offer our customers the piece of mind that their property will always look fantastic and presentable.

Xavier, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Xavier Vizcarra and I was born and raised in Park Slope Brooklyn, NY. I have two wonderful parents and three older siblings. My Father who arrived from Peru in the 60’s, was a wood finisher, started and owned one of the most successful wood finishing companies in NYC at the time. My Mother who arrived from Puerto Rico in the 70’s, was a hard working stay at home Mom who always supported all of us. At 14 years old, My Parents decided to move to Puerto Rico, since my Dad was considering retirement, it was a chance for a change of pace. Leaving the cold and trading it for beaches and warmer weather was very enticing. Growing up in PR was very different from NY; asides from learning how to speak Spanish, I found two hobbies I loved, soccer and guitar. I finished high school at 2004 and studied in the Interamerican University with a BA in Business Administration. Over the years, since my fathers work slowed down, I’ve had many jobs from parking cars to sales. On my last job as one of the worst delivery drivers you can imagine, I went to deliver cleaning supplies to a doctor’s office, He had a classical guitar there that was really beaten up. I asked him if he’d like to restore it, to which he had agreed. Working on that guitar reminded me how much I missed working on wood finishing and rekindled the love for the work we still do today. After working on that guitar, I wanted to work in wood finishing again and reach out to offer architectural finishing and maintenance.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Consistency and respect.

Consistency because many new owners go into something with passion and motivation, but what happens when that dies out? The business owner needs to be consistent… Keep showing up and never quit, especially when things get difficult.

Respect because you gotta love what you… If not, why do it? Monetary gain shouldn’t be the only thing to earn, A business owner should have the respect for what they offer this world and live by it.

These are the 2 things that I remind myself daily. Alot of customers in general suffer because they hire businesses that are just there to earn and leave… they dont care for your as long as they get paid. This happens alot unfortunately… However, We are not like this. We care about our customers like they were old friends. This is what has kept us in business for so long and we are truly grateful.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I initially had to sell 2 of the 3 guitars I had and and amplifier so I had enough money to buy the materials I needed to do jobs that began to show up. It was a very difficult time but I’ll never change it for anything.

My father had left over materials, people had given down payments and my brother loaned me his garage to store our stuff. How times have changed… We suggest to anyone looking to fund their business, just start! use what you got and don’t look back.

Thankfully, I have gotten the guitars back, so there’s the happy ending!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fwfinishing.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/finewoodfinishing
• Facebook: Fine Wood Finishing
• Linkedin: Fine Wood Finishing
• Other: We are working on tiktoks to show others how we restore wood!