By: Alexandra Perez

Learning by Doing—and Googling

In 2011, Jonathan Bannister was a newly married police officer with his first child on the way. By 2014, he was trading in his badge for business cards, walking away from law enforcement and stepping into a world he knew nothing about: digital marketing. It wasn’t a clean or easy break—it was a decision born from love, fear, and a burning desire to build something more sustainable for his growing family.

“I remember sitting in the driveway, getting ready to go to work,” Bannister recalls. “My oldest son was in my patrol car holding the steering wheel. My wife was about to give birth to our second, and she looked at me and said, ‘What are you going to do? If something happens to you, I’ll have to pull through for the kids but it’s not fair for them to not have a dad”

That moment planted a seed. With rising violence against officers and a paycheck that barely covered the essentials, Bannister began rethinking everything. Just six months later, an injury on the job and a brush with local government politics pushed him to call an old friend.

“I said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about leaving law enforcement. Are you working on anything?’ And he was like, ‘Actually, I’m building mobile apps and was about to reach out to you and see if you wanted to help sell them?’”

That call marked the first step into an entirely new world.

The early days weren’t glamorous. Bannister admits he didn’t know what SEO meant when a restaurant owner asked if he could help improve it. “I walked out of that meeting, sat in my car, and Googled ‘What is SEO?’” he laughs. “That’s how my marketing career got started.”

What he did have was a sales background, a knack for relationships, and relentless determination. Growing up in Biloxi, Mississippi, Bannister was an avid golfer and poker player—two hobbies that unexpectedly became business assets. He pitched the mobile app to golf courses first, leveraging geo-fencing to push real-time specials to customers nearby. From there, he tapped into his poker network, many of whom were business owners, and started offering tech solutions for their websites and marketing.

“I went from golf courses to seafood restaurants to 18-wheeler dealerships. If they needed help, I figured out how to deliver it,” he says. “And if I didn’t know how, I found someone who did.”

From Apps to Agency

By 2015, Bannister’s client list had grown organically, spanning industries from dentistry to storage units. The original business, “B Online Marketing,” was named after his children, all of whom have names that start with the letter B. It was a nod to his “why,” and a constant reminder of who he was doing it for.

But as the business grew, so did the challenges. Bannister entered a formal partnership that eventually fractured over values and vision. The decision to move forward independently wasn’t easy, but it was necessary.

“I’ve learned that timing is everything,” he says. “That original partner and I weren’t aligned back then. But today, he works for me full-time and we’re going to launch a new company together this year. It came full circle.”

Building Without a Blueprint

Without formal training in marketing or business ownership, Bannister built everything through intuition, experimentation, and experience. “I was always into Shark Tank and The Profit, but I never thought I’d be that guy. I just didn’t see how it was possible. But life had other plans.”

There were no investors, no safety nets—just a man with a family and a growing belief in himself.

He credits much of his early success to his ability to listen, adapt, and deliver. “I didn’t micromanage. I didn’t overpromise. I just asked business owners what they needed, and then I got to work.”

Entrepreneurial by Design

Looking back, Bannister realizes the signs were always there. “I was the worst employee,” he jokes. “My mouth got me in trouble because I questioned inefficiency. I thought I was just difficult, but now I know—I was wired to solve problems, not follow broken systems.”

That mindset, paired with his love for challenges, is what ultimately shaped him into a founder. As he tells it, the shift from public service to the private sector was less about running from something and more about running toward potential.

“I had three kids in diapers and no clue what I was doing,” Bannister says. “But I had to figure it out. That kind of pressure either breaks you or builds you. For me, it did both, and then rebuilt me stronger.”

What’s Next for Top Serve Digital

Jonathan Bannister has since grown that humble start into a full-fledged agency, rebranded under a new identity—Top Serve Digital—and expanded into AI and video marketing. His mission isn’t just about helping companies grow; it’s about creating long-term brand equity and local legend status for his clients.

But that story of reinvention—from patrol car to digital strategy—is still one of his proudest accomplishments.

“I didn’t plan any of this,” Bannister reflects. “But once I started, I knew I couldn’t stop. I owed it to my kids to become more. And I owed it to myself to prove I could.”

Published by Jeremy S.