JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – Turning your own perceived weakness into a major strength has become Jennifer Genao’s life story. She is the host of the “Jenerally Speaking” podcast. “Jenerally” is not a misspelling as it is a play on the host’s name. The young beach resident said she wasn’t sure she had a deeper voice. But she learned to turn what was an insecurity into a major strength and now a booming high-profile career built around her vocals.
“I get my voice good for radio all the time,” Genao said. “I used to be very insecure about my voice. I was bullied because my voice was very deep as a woman. So you know what I took it and turned it into something positive. And I was like I was going to use that to my advantage and make a podcast out of it.
The road to get here was started when she was just a teenager. Genao grew up in a military family and moved around a lot. His family arrived in northeast Florida just under ten years ago. Now, meanwhile, Genao said he’s met countless people in northeast Florida and wants to tell their stories. Genao said the people she met gave her the idea to get into podcasting.
“I’ve been doing it for about a year now,” Genao said. “I started this podcast because in my time in Jacksonville I’ve met so many amazing people, individuals and business owners. And over the years and going to college JU, UNF , I really wanted to highlight these incredible people who have shaped my life for the better.
Genao said of the city she loves that highlighting the positive is essential. “I think Jacksonville has a lot of bad rap for a lot of things,” Genao said. “But it’s an amazing, diverse and cultural city.”
Along the way, Genao said she learned the hard way that having a high-profile product like her podcast comes with courage and determination. Originally a solo show, she bought all the necessary equipment and taught herself what was needed to make podcasting a reality. Now she hosts the show in a studio setting and receives regular guests eager to be featured on the popular show. “I was doing everything myself,” Genao said. “I have all the necessary equipment. Find all videos and learn how to edit. Because pressing a button is not enough. You want it to look as professional as possible.
Through his podcast, Genao had developed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of many aspects of the Jacksonville area like nightlife. She recently weighed in on the potential of downtown Jacksonville if the Jaguars did indeed build a new state-of-the-art stadium.
The podcast isn’t hard to find with a unique name. Just search “Jenerally Speaking” wherever you get your podcasts from places like Apple, Spotify and other podcast players.
“Topics are free-form and there are no constraints on our topics. But I have local creators, talent, and businesses there,” Genao said. “And I show how they affect our community in Jacksonville in the best way.” She had a variety of guests ranging from musicians and chefs to bartenders and a member of the Jacksonville Beach City Council.
“When I stopped going to school, working, traveling and meeting all these great people, I was trying to think about the best way to showcase these people,” she said. .
Genao will be featured on the next episode of “Going Ringside with The Local Station.” Specifically episode 17 which will be released on Wednesday, June 21.
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