An entrepreneurial-minded Ted Ellis has marketed and sold his art throughout his career. He was already monetizing his creative talents in high school when his classmates and he sold their custom designed T-shirts, first to their school's juniors and seniors, and then throughout the school district.
In building his art business over two decades, Ellis engaged in fact-finding missions in search of financial patrons and customers at art festivals, conventions, reunions and libraries, as well as local businesses. Ellis incorporated his business in 1991. He credits his time at Rollins for teaching him that "if you have a quality product and a good form of distribution, you'll succeed".
When he first got started, Ellis quickly realized that talent was not alone enough after he had to approach 30–40 galleries until he was picked up by two, one of which closed down. He says that "it's a lot of marketing, planning, exhibiting and a lot of rejection".
Ted's wife Erenia, a loan officer, manages his business, "T. Ellis Art, Incorporated", out of a League City, Texas studio. Ellis has sold more than 1.75 million fine art products across the country through direct sales, art galleries, catalog outlets, fine art dealers, and licensing, and has marketed community partnership opportunities meant to educate and empower communities by offering maximum returns on minimal investments. In 2005 he signed for representation with art licensing agency "Alaska Momma" with the intent of opening new merchandising avenues in home décor, furnishings, calendars, apparel and stationery.
Ellis has affiliated with and had art commissioned by corporations like Walt Disney Studios, Minute Maid, Coca-Cola, Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil, State Farm Insurance, Merck Pharmaceutical, J. C. Penney, Southland Corporation, and Avon Products, Philip Morris USA and Integrity Music.
Ellis works have been sold  through Army and Air Force Exchange Service catalogs and were available exclusively both through Avons African American Boutique as well as their core brochures.
One of his first major sales was of an original depicting a God-like surgeon in an operating-room, sold to the surgeon. Ellis' art has sold for prices ranging from $750 to $30,000.
Despite his success, while Ellis initially had hoped to build his business up to Fortune 500 stature, he now finds satisfaction in "helping others through art".