On June 16, 1909, McConnell and Alexander D. Henderson, signed an agreement of Corporation for the California Perfume Company in the state of New Jersey. On January 28, 1916, the California Perfume Company was incorporated in the state of New York. McConnell, Henderson, and William Scheele were listed as company officials. The name, California Perfume Company, was a suggestion made by a friend of McConnell's who had written to him describing California because of the great abundance of flowers in California.