Business Spotlight: House of Payne Personal Training

Rachel Payne opened up in 2008. Located at 4565 Lawrenceville Hwy., Rachel and her staff of eight trainers provide personalized workouts for their clients needs whether they are basic instruction, sports training or competitions. I recently sat down with Payne to talk about her business.

Patch: How did House of Payne get its start?

Rachel: I've been a personal trainer for 25 years. I started in Buckhead as a regular club member. They needed someone to run the front desk for the club and I quickly moved into managing. I quit my real estate appraising job because managing the club provided the challenges I wanted for myself. In 1990 I went out on my own. I met and married my husband and we had a daughter so I took five years off to be a stay-at-home mom. In 2001, it was time for me to get back to work so House of Payne Personal Training was born out of my garage. Which is why it's called House of Payne. I did that for six years which was great because I got to be close to my daughter. Then in 2008 we opened up the gym at the Heritage Furniture building where we are today.

Patch: What is the best aspect of owning a personal training center?

Rachel: Our situation was unique. My husband and I owned this property so opening was easy for us because we didn't have the overhead costs. Because of this we're able to make things much more affordable. The biggest thing for myself and my trainers is that we truly invest in our clients and I think it's what separates us and why we've been so successful in people reaching their goals. When somebody comes to us and says this is what I want we sit down and really listen to them and hear what they're asking for. I could look at someone and say well you need this but if that's not what they really want that doesn't do any good. If they say they only have a specific amount of time to workout each week if I give them a program that will be more than that then they'll get frustrated because it doesn't fit what they can do. So we really try to work with each client and adapt a program that will specifically work for them.

Patch: What is the most challenging aspect of owning House of Payne?

Rachel: As a society as a whole we are inundated with information about what's good for you and what's not. Helping people shuffle through that infomation is probably the most challenging aspect. For example, somebody says I want to lose weight and I heard that almonds and walnuts are healthy. Well walnuts and almonds are healthy for you when you're trying to get your heart in good condition but it won't help you lose weight because they're so high in fat. So trying to help people decipher food labels and how to understand the need for the consistency and variety in workouts is so important.

Patch: What makes House of Payne Personal Training unique?

Rachel: We invest in our clients and we find ways that will help them get the results that each individual is looking for. We also train a lot of competitors. We fell into that niche accidently but we've helped people get into competitons, we've worked with their posing and we've helped them obtain their pro card to compete on a national level. I also think that what we do on the community level really sets us apart. When we do engage in community activities we are there. Whether it's collecting cell phones for domestic violence or making a gift basket for an auction or being in a school. We've helped to start a program to help obesity awareness and prevention in school children.

Patch: What makes the Lilburn community special?

Rachel: My husband has lived here almost all of his life. He was born in Decatur and moved to Lilburn when he was five. We live in the house he grew up in. So we've been here and been through the school system not only through him but also now our daughter is going to Parkview High School this year. Now that we have House of Payne I think people appreciate that we want to be here in Lilburn and we don't move away. It's great when we have a community like this. The people here are really loyal. They come to us all of the time year after year. People come to us as couples to train and then they bring their kids with them when they're old enough to start working out. It's just great.

House of Payne Personal Training is open Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., Friday from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m., and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.