Today we’d like to introduce you to Deanna Hinsz.
Hi Deanna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story really starts in Ohio, where I built a successful career as a REALTOR®. Then 2007 hit, and the market shifted under all of us. I’ll be honest: I hadn’t planned for it, and with two small boys at home, it became financially impossible to stay. Walking away from real estate was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it taught me lessons about resilience and planning that have shaped everything I’ve built since.
But I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and that didn’t go away. In 2011 I opened my own boutique marketing agency, and over the years that grew into more than I ever imagined. I built an online community teaching women how to launch and grow their own businesses, hosted workshops, ran a podcast, spoke nationally and learned everything there is to know about branding and connecting with people online. That chapter taught me that my real gift isn’t selling. It’s helping people get where they’re trying to go.
Life took our family on quite a journey after that, from Ohio to Montana, then to Florida, and finally to East Tennessee, where everything just clicked. The mountains, the people, the pace of life. We knew we were home. (I actually shared a video about why we left Florida for Tennessee that ended up being seen by almost two million people, so apparently we weren’t the only ones feeling that pull!)
Once we settled in Knoxville, I wanted to get out of the house and shake things up, so I went to work for a luxury custom home builder, helping clients design and build million-dollar homes. Being back in that world reminded me how much I love this industry. There’s nothing like walking people through the biggest purchase of their lives and watching them light up when it all comes together. So I got my real estate license again, this time in Tennessee, and joined Realty Executives – West Hills.
Today I get to combine everything: fifteen-plus years of marketing and branding, my background in luxury new construction, and my own experience of relocating here, to help people find their place in East Tennessee. Because I haven’t just sold this move. I’ve lived it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Not even close. And I think that’s the point.
The 2007 market crash was my first big lesson. I had built a real estate business I was proud of with RE/MAX. In fact, I earned the RE/MAX Executive Club award for my 2006 sales and was presented with it in 2007, right as the market began to turn. I went from accepting an award one season to watching the business I had built unravel the next. I hadn’t planned for a downturn, and with a young family depending on me, I had to walk away from a career I loved. That experience humbled me, but it also planted something in me: a determination to never be unprepared again.
Starting my marketing agency in 2011 came with its own struggles. When you’re self-employed, there’s no safety net and no one handing you clients. I had to learn everything the hard way: how to find customers, how to price my work, how to keep going in the slow months. Building an online community and a podcast meant putting myself out there over and over, long before anyone was watching.
Then there were the moves. Ohio to Montana to Florida to Tennessee is a lot of starting over. Every move meant leaving behind a network I had spent years building and walking into a place where nobody knew my name. That’s humbling when relationships are the heart of how you do business.
And honestly, that’s the challenge I’m in right now. I came back to real estate in a brand new state where I’m rebuilding from zero. No old client list, no decades of local connections, just me, my work ethic, and a genuine love for this place. But here’s what all those hard seasons taught me: I know how to start over. I’ve done it again and again, and every time I’ve come back stronger. So when someone calls me and says they’re moving to East Tennessee and don’t know where to begin, I don’t just sympathize. I know exactly how that feels, and I know how to walk them through it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Deanna Hinsz, REALTOR® | Realty Executives – West Hills?
I help people find their place in East Tennessee. That’s the heart of it, and I mean it in both senses: the right house, and the feeling of actually belonging somewhere.
My specialty is relocation, and it’s a specialty I earned the hard way. I have moved across the country more than once, from Ohio to Montana to Florida to Tennessee, so when someone tells me they’re overwhelmed trying to buy a home in a place they’ve only visited twice, I don’t just understand it professionally. I’ve packed those boxes. I know what it’s like to choose a community from a thousand miles away and hope you got it right. We got it right when we landed in East Tennessee, and now I get to help other families do the same.
I also bring a background most agents don’t have. I spent over a decade running my own marketing agency, teaching entrepreneurs how to build their brands and reach people online. For my sellers, that means your home isn’t just listed, it’s marketed, with strategy behind every photo, video, and post. I’ve had a single video reach almost two million people, so I understand how attention works online and how to use it to get a home in front of the right buyers. On top of that, my background and recent experience in luxury custom new construction means I can walk buyers through new builds with a builder’s-side perspective, which is a real advantage in a growing market like ours.
What sets me apart is how I work. I’m not a salesy agent, and I never will be. I built my entire career on relationships and education, helping people understand their options so they can make confident decisions. No pressure, no scripts, no treating people like transactions. The way I see it, I’m not trying to close a deal. I’m trying to be the person you call for the rest of your life whenever real estate crosses your mind, whether that’s a question about your home’s value or a friend who needs help moving here.
What am I most proud of, brand wise? That my story and my business are the same thing. I’m not borrowing a brand or following a formula. Everything I share, from the East Tennessee lifestyle content to the honest conversations about starting over, comes from my real life. People connect with that, and they can tell the difference.
If you’re thinking about making a move to East Tennessee, or you’re already here and wondering what’s next, I’d love to be a resource. Even if you’re a year or two away, reach out. The best moves start with a conversation, not a contract.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Networking is the thing I’ve probably done most consistently across every chapter of my career, and here’s the biggest lesson: give first, and give without keeping score.
When I ran my marketing agency, I built a whole community around helping women entrepreneurs grow their businesses. The relationships that came out of that didn’t happen because I handed out business cards. They happened because I showed up, answered questions, shared what I knew for free, and genuinely celebrated other people’s wins. Years later, those same people still send opportunities my way. That’s how networking actually works. It’s slow, it’s real, and it compounds.
My practical advice: stop networking at people and start being curious about them. I hosted a podcast for years, and interviewing people taught me that everyone, including the most successful person in the room, lights up when someone asks a thoughtful question and actually listens to the answer. You’ll build more relationships by being interested than by being impressive.
On mentors, here’s what I’ve learned: don’t open with “will you be my mentor?” That’s asking a stranger for a commitment before you’ve built anything. Instead, find people doing what you want to do, follow their work, ask one specific question, act on the advice, and then circle back and tell them what happened. Nothing wins over a busy, successful person faster than seeing that their advice didn’t go to waste. Most of my mentorships started as one small conversation that I treated with respect, and they grew from there.
And one more thing, because I’ve started over in four different states: when you’re new somewhere, say yes to everything for the first year. The coffee invitation, the community event, the thing that feels slightly outside your comfort zone. You never know which yes turns into the relationship that changes everything. I’m living that right now in Knoxville, and I can tell you the rooms you walk into matter far less than the way you show up once you’re in them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://deannahinsz.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/deannahinsz
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/deannahinsz
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/deannahinsz
