Persis Albee was a dealer in holiday goods, household goods and ladies' furnishings in her own store. She also served as a Sunday school teacher and President of the Winchester Literary Guild. Persis went to work for David McConnell, owner of the Union Publishing Company (later called California Perfume Company) selling books. Persis showed McConnell the business model that made his company famous. After that McConnell’s Company began to sell perfumes along with books. Thanks to Persis’ success in selling products, she was rewarded by McConnell with a promotion. As the company's first General Agent, Persis began recruiting others as part of the part-time sales force.