Terry Conway maps the 3-step playbook behind Handy Seafood’s growth

Former Perdue Farms CFO Terry Conway says a simple three-part operating model helped turn a Chesapeake Bay soft crab business into Handy Seafood, a $60 million global brand. His new book mixes memoir and management advice for entrepreneurs, family firms and business students. Why it matters: - Terry Conway’s story offers a practical blueprint for scaling a family business through supply chain discipline, product quality and sales execution. - The book targets entrepreneurs, family-owned companies and recent graduates looking for a real-world framework, not theory. - Handy Seafood’s rise to $60 million in sales shows how a small regional operation can expand into international markets. What happened: - Terry Conway, former CFO of Perdue Farms, took control of a soft crab company in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay area and found a business in disarray. - Conway’s new book, Business is Simple: From a Family Cottage Business to World Processing and Markets , lays out the lessons from that turnaround. - The book centers on a three-step formula: continuously develop superior products, process at a competitive advantage, and develop leads for sales to close. - The book was released by Publish Your Purpose on March 15, 2026. - Handy Seafood reached sales of $60 million in 2024. The details: - Conway says the company faced scarce resources, limited experience and major gaps in basic business functions when he took over. - The book recounts competition, regulatory hurdles, international expansion and high-stakes decisions. - Conway says the business had to be built to last and eventually passed to the next generation. - The story follows expansion stops in Costa Rica, Thailand and India as Handy Seafood broadened its reach beyond domestic markets. - The book is part memoir, part manual and part survival story. - Conway says he wrote the book to help readers make better decisions and scale their own businesses. - More information is available at the author’s website . - The book is also available on Amazon . Between the lines: - The core message is that business growth is less about complexity than disciplined execution. - Conway’s emphasis on product, processing and sales suggests that operational basics can matter more than flashy strategy when a business is under pressure. - The global anecdotes signal that international expansion was not a side note but part of the company’s reinvention. What’s next: - The book is positioned as a guide for leaders facing growth, succession and operational change. - Conway is also serving as Executive Consultant to the Board after his recent retirement. - Readers interested in Conway’s background can also find his social profiles through the media contacts listed with the release. The bottom line: - Conway says the path from family cottage business to global seafood brand came down to a simple system executed consistently under pressure.