Holmes Dental Lab: Francis Holmes

For 30 years, Francis Holmes has been honing his skills and perfecting his craft in the dental laboratory field. Leaning on his wide expertise in the field and the support and encouragement of his family and friends around him, Holmes ventured out on his own in 2025 to open his own lab, Holmes Dental Lab in Durham. 

“This is all I know,” says Holmes. “I started working in the dental laboratory field at 18-years old in 1994. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since. This is what I know.” 

After working in big corporations and running labs there, Holmes realized that his skillset and expertise in the field were more than strong enough for him to go out on his own. After receiving a nudge from his family and some friends in the industry who had started their own labs as well, Holmes made the leap into entrepreneurship and created Holmes Dental Lab.  

“It got to a point where I was like ‘man, I can do this fine by myself,’” says Holmes. “Problems I had in my lab working for a bigger corporation, I fixed. So, I had been thinking about starting my lab for a few years. I had some money saved up, and I became really good friends with a doctor that challenged me and motivated me to be a better technician, and that was the nudge I needed.” 

As he ventured into small business ownership, Holmes began seeking out financial capital to help kickstart his business. While he had money saved up to have his own personal investment in his business as well, Holmes sought out a small business loan to help get things started and was connected to Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF) through a banking partner who felt a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) was a better fit for Holmes’ needs.  

“I had some money saved up but I was also trying to figure out the math and felt I could use some funding,” says Holmes. “I had a friend who put me in touch with a bank, but my loan wasn’t really big enough for them, so they put me in touch with CSBDF.” 

After being connected with a Business Solutions Officer at CSBDF, Holmes worked with the team to solidify his business plans, projections, and more, and become loan ready. 

“Working with CSBDF was great,” says Holmes. “I can’t say enough good things about them. They asked all the right questions, and I really appreciate that now. I go back and read my business plan and I feel confidence, and I appreciate CSBDF for helping push me with that.” 

Holmes received a loan from CSBDF in February of 2025, which helped to secure the lease for the lab as well as cover some of the upfront costs of machinery and equipment. Additionally, the money from CSBDF helped to buy materials to last a while.  

“If you plan things out right, you have a better chance of success,” says Holmes. “I’ve known that and lived by that since I was in the Boy Scouts. Working with CSBDF, I was able to better plan things out and understand my business. I had a plan to know what I needed to upfit the space and get the machinery and supplies. Once that loan came in, I was off to the races. I had some breathing room. I had some materials to last a while.” 

For Holmes, dental lab work is all he’s ever known. His experience in the lab working with new, innovative technologies is vast, but there were other aspects of small business ownership that took some time to learn.  

The partnership forged with CSBDF, in addition to the loan, helped Holmes to really take his small business to the next level.  

“The loan also helped me go in and spruce up our website, and it looks amazing,” says Holmes. “There’s a really big difference between a really good professional website and one that isn’t as professional, and it was all those little things that I didn’t really think of that CSBDF helped me with. They helped me think about marketing, about the website, about business cards. I’m a lab guy, so those weren’t really things I was thinking about. I had to learn that, and CSBDF helped me learn.” 

Now as Holmes Dental Lab takes off, Holmes is filled with confidence as he begins to take on clients and work. For Holmes, seeing his hard work starting to pay off and seeing that his business is sustainable is a great feeling.  

“I’ve got money coming in now, not just money going out. That feels so good,” says Holmes. “As I started to go out and pitch to dental offices, I was oozing confidence. I oozed confidence underneath the door, I didn’t even have to open it. I went in prepared and presented myself well and pitched what I do. I care about my work. I’m personally invested in it. I’m seeing the success is starting to come in and am seeing that the bottom is not going to fall out.” 

As Holmes Dental Lab continues to grow, Holmes is thankful of his family and friends for their vehement support and belief in what he is doing. With a strong support system behind him as he takes on the scary yet exciting prospects of small business ownership, Holmes is ready for what the future holds for his lab. 

“I believed in myself and I believed in my skill set,” says Holmes. “But it makes it so much easier knowing I’ve got my people behind me that won’t let me fall flat on my face. That includes my family who has always motivated me and believed in me, and it also includes CSBDF.”