(FORTUNE Small Business) – A year ago Dr. Brian Eichenberg wanted to run a nationwide empire of medical spas where nurses would perform procedures such as Botox and laser hair removal. But after his Small-Biz Makeover, Eichenberg changed his strategy and tactics. Instead of plunging full-tilt into the spa business, he refocused his attention on his surgery practice and the half-dozen spas he was already running near his home office in Temecula, Calif. Now, he says, surgery revenues are up 37%, and the spas are up 36%.

James Stoodt of Deloitte Consulting argued that Eichenberg made too much money as a surgeon to risk diverting his attention to the far riskier spa business. Better to concentrate on a handful of nearby medi-spas, whose customers will turn to Eichenberg when they want the more elaborate (and expensive) procedures that only a surgeon can provide. So the doctor spun the spas off into a new company called Renuance Aesthetic Care and hired an MBA with hospital experience to run it. The new manager immediately earned her keep by cleaning up financial improprieties at the satellite offices. And after she determined that certain offices had too few customers to be profitable, Eichenberg shut those clinics down and reopened in new locations. The new manager has also boosted service levels and consistency at the various offices. In turn, the spas are generating more surgery candidates. "My backlog has increased, and my fees have risen," says the doctor.

Eichenberg recently launched a new medi-spa in the same building that houses his surgery practice. "It's not luxurious," he says. "It has a medical feel, but that's what patients prefer." With the extra space and booming demand, he has hired a second plastic surgeon. Eichenberg has also learned that he likes owning and running his own medi-spa rather than renting space in someone else's spa. "I'm planning to open my own medi-spa about 30 miles from here by the end of the year," he adds. "And if that works out, I will probably hire a third surgeon." Despite his success, Eichenberg is a bit frustrated that the business isn't expanding even more quickly. "But to paraphrase someone, Pamela Anderson wasn't built in a day," he says philosophically. —BRIAN O'REILLY