You know
your business.
I know where
to start.
I built HoursBack because I kept seeing the same thing. You're buried in admin, you're probably paying for software you barely touch, and nobody has ever gone through the whole lot with you properly.
Most owners I talk to don't need more ideas about AI - they're already drowning in them. What they need is someone to put those ideas in order: what matters now, what can wait, what's not worth the effort at all.
How HoursBack started
I spent years inside large businesses - Coca-Cola, Betway, Kraft Heinz - watching them spend enormous amounts of money on creative and marketing operations that could have been largely automated.
When I went out on my own as a consultant, I started working with smaller businesses and noticed the same inefficiencies, but with none of the budget to fix them. The tools exist. The AI is ready. Most small business owners just don't have someone they trust to cut through the noise and tell them what's actually worth their time.
That's HoursBack.
Career
- I've spent 20+ years in creative and marketing operations, mostly inside large organisations - running creative teams, managing multi-million pound production pipelines, and building the systems that sit behind them.
- At Coca-Cola I led a global self-serve marketing platform that cut content production costs by 95%. At Betway I drove over £2m in operational savings. At Korn Ferry I ran the creative engine behind an £80m business development pipeline. The common thread: finding the inefficiency and building the system that removes it.
- I've spent years working seriously with AI and automation tools, and now run both businesses - HoursBack and traidhand - using 22 custom AI agents with zero employees.
Five things I'll never budge on.
If you can't explain what the AI is doing in plain English, you shouldn't be using it yet.
Complexity is often a cover for a bad recommendation. If a tool needs a glossy vendor demo to make sense, it's not the right starting point. Everything I suggest, I can explain in a sentence.
Most small businesses don't need more tools - they need fewer, used properly.
Before adding anything, I look at what you already have and whether it's actually working. More often than not, the quick win is already in your stack.
The best AI recommendation pays for itself inside 90 days.
I'm not interested in long-horizon ROI projections that nobody believes. If I can't show you a realistic path to payback within three months, it's not the right recommendation for where you are now.
Automation should free you up to do the work only you can do.
The goal isn't to replace your judgment - it's to stop your judgment being wasted on tasks a system can handle. You should be spending your time on clients, craft, and growth. Not admin.
I only recommend things I use myself.
I run two businesses with 22 custom AI agents and no employees. None of what I recommend is theoretical. If it's on your roadmap, it's already on mine.
How HoursBack works
It starts with the free AI Readiness Quiz - two minutes, no fluff, and it gives you a quick win you can act on today.
If you want to go deeper, the paid assessment is a 60-minute conversation where I get into how your business actually works - what takes time, what gets repeated, where things fall through the cracks.
From that I build a custom report: specific tools, a practical roadmap, realistic ROI projections built on your actual numbers, and no recommendations that require a developer or a six-month rollout. You get it within two working days of your call. Then I stay in touch for thirty days while you read it and have questions.
I'm here to give you enough clarity that you can move forward on your own.
Speaking and profiles
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidjrbevan
- Henry Stuart Creative Operations - Los Angeles
- Inside Out Live 2025 - London
- Beating the odds and adapting to the future with a digital in-house production strategy - Stockholm
- Programmatic Pioneers Summit - London
- Inside Out Digital In-house Production Strategy - Webinar
traidhand.com - founder. AI tools built specifically for trades businesses.
See what's hiding in your week.
If you're ready to look at your whole workflow, the paid assessment goes into the detail: a 60-minute conversation, a custom report, and thirty days of follow-up while you put it into practice.
Prefer to start smaller? The free AI Readiness Quiz takes two minutes and gives you at least one practical thing you can act on today - no sign-up required to see your results.