Is 4 Percent Group a Scam? An Unbiased Non-Affiliate Review 2018
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Is 4 Percent Group a Scam? An Unbiased Non-Affiliate Review 2018

Welcome to my Four Percent Group review!

Please be aware of the "overly-promotional" reviews out there because they are created by the affiliates of Four Percent Group. They are just trying to promote FPG and get more referrals.

So, is 4 Percent Group a scam?

Well, I'm not an affiliate of Four Percent Group and I can confidently tell you upfront that it is not a scam.

But there are strings attached to this program and that's what I'll be revealing to you in this Four Percent Group review...

4 Percent Group Review Summary

Product Name: Four Percent Group

Founder: Vick Strizheus (Vitaliy Strizheus)

Product Type: Affiliate Marketing Training & Sales Funnel

Price: $49/month + Hidden costs (I'll explain)

Best For: Beginners in internet marketing & The owner himself

four percent group review

Summary: Four Percent Group in a nutshell, is a marketing funnel (with some training) which asks you to purchase various affiliate products like AWeber, ClickFunnels, Click Magick and many more, in order for you to promote these products (together with Four Percent Group products) and make affiliate commissions. It's a legit business model but it's just not the best way to learn about affiliate marketing & make money online.

Rating: 48/100

Recommended: No

More...

What is 4 Percent Group?

4 Percent Group is a marketing & training company founded by Vick Strizheus who claims that he wants to help entrepreneurs to become the most powerful, influential and dominant figures in their business and life.

On the surface, Vick seems like a very passionate guy with huge ambitions to help people succeed.

He indeed is a man with lots of values to share. However, it's hard for people to forget what he had done in the past.

vick strizheus

Vick Strizheus, Founder of 4 Percent Group

I think it is important for us to learn more about the background of Vick before we dive deeper into what Four Percent Group is really about and how it works...

The Shady Past of Vick...

Vick was the man behind quite a number of scam products in the past.

For example, he had created products like Big Idea Mastermind, Project Breakthrough and High Traffic Academy.

Take Big Idea Mastermind as an example, it is a marketing funnel to promote the now infamous Empower Network MLM scam.

I believe these products are no longer available now. And the reason for the downfall of Big Idea Mastermind is that Vick was guilty of switching people's Affiliate ID to his own so that he could earn more commissions.

The story didn't end there...

In his High Traffic Academy, he claimed that he borrowed $30,000 to start his internet marketing business but that was a total lie.

In the end, he was almost put to jail because those $30,000 was stolen from people using his online insurance scam.

Do not take my word for it. Here's the proof!

I know a person's past does not determine who he is right now. But I just think we all must be aware of his unscrupulous acts in the past if we are considering to purchase his products.

There are no negative news about Vick (as far as I know) in the recent years he has launched his latest product called the Four Percent Group.

Unlike the Big Idea Mastermind where it promotes a scammy product like Empower Network, the 4 Percent Group promotes high quality products like Tecademics, ClickFunnelsAweber, GetResponse, Name Cheap, etc... (I'll go into the details for this in just a moment!)

These products are all legitimate and highly reliable tools today so I believe this can be a sign that Vick has changed.

Let's take a look at how 4 Percent Group works...

4 figure monthly passive income
Jerry Huang, Founder of Smart Affiliate Success

I'm Jerry!

I Created My Own 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income at just 21 Years Old!

How to Make Money with 4 Percent Group?

4 Percent Group is not some training to help you become a successful entrepreneur.

It is a membership product which has training and resources to help you set up your own sales funnel and make money via the business model called Affiliate Marketing.

Yes, 4 Percent Group is just an affiliate marketing business. It teaches people how to make money by promoting affiliate products.

Here's how it works...

When you sign up to become a Four Percent Group member, you'll have access to their 7-Step Getting Started training:

  • Step 1: New Member Orientation (Details, Strategy, Plan)
  • Step 2: Quick Setup & Activating Multiple Streams of Income
  • Step 3: Funnel Setup
  • Step 4: Power Base Activation
  • Step 5: Plant Your Flag
  • Step 6: The Miracles of Live Events
  • Step 7: Operation $100K

The most important work you have to do is at step 2 and 3. Basically, that's when you need to purchase the 8 tools recommended by Vick:

  • Tecademics (Internet Marketing College)
  • ClickFunnels (Sales Funnel Builder)
  • LeadPages (Page Builder)
  • Click Magick (Tracking Tool)
  • GetResponse (Autoresponder)
  • AWeber (Autoresponder)
  • Udimi (Solo Ads)
  • NameCheap (Website Domain Name)

Then you're required to set up your sales funnel using ClickFunnels and start promoting the affiliate products you've just purchased, including 4 Percent Group's membership.

He will teach you some paid traffic methods to drive traffic to your funnel landing page and all you need to do after that is wait for commission to come in.

Basically, the 2 main things you need to do to make money with 4 Percent Group is to set up your marketing funnel and drive traffic to it.

Personally, I think this is an over-simplified process because there are a lot more details to this process.

4 percent group members area

4 Percent Group Member's Area

As you can see in this member's area screenshot, Vick has even put up a page for you to put in all your affiliate links for these 8 products.

He said you need to enter your affiliate links there in order to receive your affiliate commissions. But I don't think that's the case.

I wouldn't trust him to handle my affiliate links after he had switched people's affiliate links in the past...

Is Multiple Streams of Passive Income Real?

Vick has been emphasizing the importance of having multiple streams of passive income. But is that really possible with 4 Percent Group?

Let me tell you the truth...

His multiple streams of passive income refers to the fact that you're promoting multiple affiliate products so each of these product will give you a passive income stream.

What's the pre-requisite?

You have to purchase all of these products on your own first!

How Much Does 4 Percent Group Cost?

4 Percent Group has 3 different membership levels:

4 percent group pricing
  • LITE ($7/month): Limited functions, for people who want to start small and test waters
  • PRO ($49/month): Most popular membership level which include all the things you need to make money with 4 Percent Group
  • PRO ELITE ($5,000/year): For more experienced marketers who are already making money online and want to scale up their business (Private Coaching included)

$7 or $49 per month may not seem to be an expensive investment for most people but that does not include a lot of the additional costs you need to run your business.

Here are the pricing for the 8 additional tools you are going to purchase:

  • Tecademics: It used to cost up to $12,000 but currently this product is not available
  • ClickFunnels: $97/month (Even more expensive than 4 Percent Group membership)
  • LeadPages: $37/month
  • Click Magick: $17/month
  • GetResponse: $15/month
  • AWeber: $19/month
  • Udimi: Varies depending on your solo ad
  • NameCheap: $10+/year

You don't need to purchase all 8. For example, you don't need both GetResponse and Aweber because they are both autoresponder.

But if you calculate all these additional costs, your investment is not just $49/month. It's a lot more than that.

P.S. There's a problem with their $7/month Lite Membership. Even if you try to sign up for it, they'll direct you to the PRO Membership and ask you to pay $49!

Pros & Cons

The Good

1. Leveraging Legit Products

Vick used to promote scam products like Empower Network. So it's really good to see that the products he uses and promotes today are all legit and reliable.

For example, ClickFunnels is a very popular tool that many successful internet marketers use to build highly profitable online businesses.

2. No Upsells

Normally, you could expect more upsells to come after you've purchased the initial membership.

But this time round, Vick does not have that. The only thing you need to be aware of is the extra costs that are not included in the membership price.

3. The System Works

Vick is no longer using unscrupulous methods to run his business.

Affiliate Marketing is a legit business model that I am personally using as well. It is the business model that has enabled a lot of people to enjoy financial freedom.

So one of the good things about 4 Percent Group is that the system works.


The Bad

1. Hidden Cost

Like I've mentioned, despite the affordable membership, there are quite a number of hidden costs that you'll only know after you join the system.

One more hidden cost is the money you need to invest for paid traffic, which can easily cost up to a few hundred or even thousand bucks per month.

2. Pyramid Scheme?

4 Percent Group is not a pyramid scheme. However, Vick is focusing a lot on helping members to promote and sell his own 4 Percent Membership.

He even provides you with his own proven sales funnel to promote 4 Percent Group.

I'm not against this because that's how most companies grow.

What I don't like is the fact that there is very little help for you to apply 4 Percent Group to other businesses you may have or you want to build.

This is unlike Wealthy Affiliate where you can build your own business in any market/niche you want.

3. No Traffic, No Money...

4 Percent Group focuses on paid traffic which is not the ideal strategy for beginners.

It takes a lot of trial and error to hit the jack pot in paid traffic and there are a lot of things to learn. If you're a beginner, you're likely to lose quite a lot of money just to get the hang of it.

On the other hand, 4 Percent Group does not teach you anything much about Free traffic (probably because it takes a longer time to see results).

That's why I don't really recommend beginner to join 4 Percent Group.

4. No Free Trial

There's no way for you to test-drive the system for free. Currently, it seems like the $7/month plan is also not available.

The only way is to pay $49/month directly if you want to test the system.

I don't recommend you to pay this amount of money before you could even have the taste of how the system works.

My advice to you is this...

If you're looking for ways to making money online, there must be some sort of Free Trial before you are required to pay for the actual thing.

5. Steep Learning Curves

It's really not that easy as Vick has promised.

You can't expect to start making money just because Vick has helped you setup your own sales funnel.

If you really want to succeed in the long run, you need to learn from the basics and have a strong foundation. Investing in done-for-you products won't help you in the long run.

Every single tool you're going to use in 4 Percent Group has its own learning curve, be it ClickFunnels or Aweber or Udimi.

It's really not that easy especially Vick brings so many different tools together all at once. I believe it will be quite overwhelming for beginners.

Is 4 Percent Group a Scam?

Like I've said in the beginning of this review, 4 Percent Group is NOT a scam because it is based on a legitimate business model called Affiliate Marketing and the tools they recommend to you are all great products which a lot of internet marketers use today.

However, the problem with 4 Percent Group is that they aren't some ambitious company that want to change the world as they promised:

4 percent promise

Four Percent Group's total crap...

All these are just total crap. What they do is just teach you how to set up your sales funnel and promote their affiliate products.

I really don't understand what is an "entrepreneur's lifestyle brand". All these are just hype.

How I Make a Living Online...

I've personally created a 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income Stream and become financially independent at just 21 years old without any College degree or working experience!

Through my own hard work, I went from a broke restaurant waiter to living my dream laptop lifestyle in less than a year's time...


If you want to discover the secrets of how I did it at such a young age, click here!


Fun Fact: Do you know why 4 Percent Group is called 4 Percent Group? 

Vick said out of 100 people who wants to succeed, 80% will complain about all the things that could possibly hold them back and never take any action. 16% will take some actions but with skepticism. Only 4% of people will actually take massive actions and do whatever it takes to succeed.

Jerry Huang
 

Jerry is a young aspiring Internet Entrepreneur who started his online business at the age of 18. He is currently a Full-time Affiliate Marketer at Wealthy Affiliate, a community to help anyone start their own online business without prior experience. He actually achieved Financial Independence at the young age of 21. Read more about his story here!

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 23 comments
Caterina Christakos - August 2, 2019

Hi

I agree that this needs to be updated.

1) A large number of affiliate products that you promote for residual income DO NOT require you to buy the products first.

2) The products that are recommended in the four percent are necessary tools for anyone who actually wants to create a profitable business. While most supposed gurus try to trick you into thinking you can just direct traffic to an affiliate link and rake in the cash, Vic actually teaches you to create your own brand.

3) He actually teaches you to promote what you want. You do not have to promote the four percent.

4) You mention Vic’s past. I actually was a member of the high traffic academy and big idea mastermind. I found the training to be amazing, regardless of if he was trying to promote Empower or not. I still search for his videos on youtube because he actually teaches real ways to drive traffic that actually work.

From what I can see of the Four Percent ( and yes I actually joined it) the training is excellent. He begins by having you change your mindset from get rich quick to building an actual business that creates the lifestyle you want.

I for one am a big fan and would recommend it to anyone looking for real training and not hype.

Reply
    Syed Anwar - October 15, 2019

    I think this training and strategies are really good. His teaching method is also very wonderful. Obviously there will be many failure stories in each program along with the success stories and probably the failures may be more than the success stories that is just how things work and that is what the 4% or the 80-20 rule says.

    Reply
Jacky De Klerk - January 22, 2019

Hi Jerry,

I honestly believe that you should update your review.

It is no longer correct. You do not have to buy any products and he makes it clear that you can use whatever you want to use. You can also promote any of his products or the products in the ecosystem without buying them. There are one or two products that require membership but it is not part of his system.

Just saying.

Reply
ismael e diaz - January 11, 2019

Ok here’s my honest unbias evaluation on the four percent and yes I’m going thru the course now as we speak actually I started about 6 days ago.

1- the program has a 1$ 7 days free trial, I can’t say when this 1$ offer started, so maybe at the time of this article review, the offer wasn’t available. programs update promotions all the time to try to get more people in or compete with other programs in the market

2-the four percent program is a platform simple as that, is a place where you’re going to come in and learn the mechanics on how to set up an affiliate platform for your own business witch include funnel building, capturing emails, sales offers and tracking, which are the core of any affiliate business in my understanding…through this process Vick takes you step by step and teaches you how to build and set up those elements by you simply doing with him……at the end of the day you can take the MECHANICS of funnel building, email auto responding, click/conversion tracking and apply it in your own endeavor like I said Vick teaches the mechanic and obviously his going to promote his business just as anyone else would. but it DOES NOT MEAN YOU NEED TOO PROMOTE THE FOUR PERCENT…..you can go to click bank or any other affiliate platform with his knowledge and become successful there

3- the program is 49$ a month and there’s a lifetime membership 400 and something don’t remember what is the exact number but but is around that price range that’s the only time Vick is going to try to upsell the four percent and is a simple yes or no and done deal….. once you’re in yes you need to buy tools such as anything else in life whether you’re starting an online business or opening up a business in your local town you will need tools to operate the business phone line, internet connection, fax machine, computer, pens paper, ect….you get the point…… the same principle applies here, it is unlogical for ANYONE to think you can become a successful affiliate marketer make 6 figures a month without 1 a funnel building platform, 2 an autoresponder to capture your opt-in email, 3 a tracking system to let you know how your ad or adds are converting split testing ect.. and 3 without spending money on adds. these are just the basics to get your feet wet, im pretty sure theres even more advance tools you need like keywords tools spy tools and things to scale your adds and convertions…. you know pretty much the things all these so call youtube GURUS dont want you to know about or forget to share to keep you running in cirlces wondering what you doing wrong so they can sell you on their courses……..whether you take the four percent course or not EVENTUALLY you will need those tools, well if your in it for the long run anyways……..vick recomens specfic namebrand in his couse wich, in my opinion after careful comparison to others, are the best in their particular field in my opinion BUT IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU NEED TO PURCHASE THOSE HE HAS IN HIS COURSE….you can puchase witch ever tool you want from what ever company you want and become an affiliate of them with or without been in the four percent challenge

4- last point Vick is no angel and im not here tot defend him, he’s done his dirt just like a lot of these so call GURUS out there…..he just happened to get caught and taken public he wont be the first and definitely not the last. i was very skeptical before getting into his program but at the end of the day im not here to depend on him or his four percent platform to make me a 6 figure a month affiliate, he has a particular knowledge that i need right now to keep moving forward in affiliate marketing journey nothing more nothing less. that been said the four percent is NOT a perfect platform in the sense that you will NOT learn every little secret and hidden gem of affiliate marketing nor will you be an affiliate guru, that takes time, passion for the business, learning as you go ie. investing in your education maybe taking a few other courses etc and a lot of trial and error, in conclusion like the author of this page said the four percent is not for everyone and yes he’s right is not. is not for the person who think they can make 6 figures or even 10,000 a month with out spending a dime on adds, or software, and yes you can get free traffic by starting a blog, making youtube video, posting your link on forums, or FB fan pages or on the comment section a few videos on youtube videos……that’s cool as a beginner and yes you’ll get your few leads and sales here and there but that’s very time consuming as any real affiliate will tell you. at the end of the day if you want to make it big in affiliate, E-commerce, or what ever marketing platform you’re in and live the lifestyle all these youtuber affiliate and e-commerce gurus are living, you will eventually need to spend money on adds and you will definitely need the software vick tells his people to get weather you get it from the program or on your own is up to you.

This is my own personal unbiased opinion, as you can see there’s no affiliate link or code for the four percent or any other software platform they endorse and promote because at the end of the day educating people on the reality of things is more important to me than miss leading people just to put a few bucks in my pocket

Reply
    Jerry Huang - January 24, 2019

    Thanks for sharing your opinion. But it’s only the 6th day you’re with 4 Percent Group as you write this comment. Come back again a few months down the road and share with us your experience, alright?

    Reply
Dave - November 16, 2018

Hi Jerry,
Until I ran into your review on 4 Percent Group, I have been leaning on getting in. Now I’m ready to move ahead in Wealthy Affiliate instead.

I have been watching and reading reviews about WA and as far as I’m seeing, very little can touch it. I don’t want to be shocked with upsells. I am looking for the a program that will teach me Internet marketing and allows me to be free to market what I want. Seems like I have found it.

Would love to have some conversation with you. Email me Jerry?

Dave

Reply
    Jerry Huang - November 16, 2018

    Hey Dave,

    Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad my review helps and you’re ready to move on with Wealthy Affiliate.

    Yea I’m happy to chat with you. Just hit me up in Wealthy Affiliate. Chat soon!

    Jerry

    Reply
Jay Brazen - July 24, 2018

Hey Jerry,

I think you need to update your review as Four Percent has changed a lot.

And did you also know that you do not need to purchase any of the programs (MSI) inside Four Percent to be an affiliate, biggest misconception I have seen about it.

Their is a $1, 7 day trial and than $49/month. The only hidden fee is the cost to be a promotional partner.

I urge you to check it out again.

Reply
    Jerry Huang - July 24, 2018

    Ok I’ll look into it again. Thanks for the update.

    But I need to ask, as a 4 Percent Group member, what are you guys really doing? From my understanding, Vick simply offers you guys some training and teach you how to promote affiliate programs like ClickFunnels, Click Magick things like that. And what you’re doing is simply driving traffic to the sales funnel, isn’t it?

    Reply
      Jay Brazen - July 25, 2018

      Not exactly, Vick gives you several funnels to promote as well as helping you set them up with things like Clickfunnels, Clickmagick and GetResponse.

      He also helps set you up with a website, which is a separate product within 4 Percent Group. As a promotional partner you will make commissions off all the products your referred members purchase for the life of the customer.

      Some of the courses include Internet Traffic Mastery, SEO Mastery, and Instagram Mastery.

      His main product “The Challenge” really dives deep into mindset and building a business the right way.

      I really feel like Vick is legit even though he has some negatives in his past. Don’t we all?

      And after the fall of MOBE, Vick has decided to steer clear of the “business opportunity” pitch and more of an Internet marketing education platform. I would say give it another look for sure.

      Reply
        Jerry Huang - July 25, 2018

        Hmm…Thanks for the info. Good to know that Vick has learnt the lesson from MOBE.

        Reply
    Balakrishna - October 17, 2019

    Hi,

    Once I happened to attend his webinar, at the end he tempted the people to join his program by paying immediately by keeping the timer display on the screen with Five Minutes descending to swipe the card for $197/month, if not it is going to be $497 per month, I am the victim who has signed up and continue to pay for two months, but it used to pop up when ever I login, I can pay $1300 as he has concerned First month pay, against $1497 for lifetime, but never never considered the amount paid months together may be may be because of lack of funds. So in this case he will be seeking monthly payment instead of life.

    Another thing is that he tempts to buy e-Stage @$497 with optional set up fee @$97, Later again tempts to buy e-Stage Academy @$197.

    After getting into his trap, I felt I have been misguided as the monthly fee is $49 and during the webinar he tempted the people to make $197 a month. So who so ever signed up in webinar continued to pay $197 a month and for others who can sign up @ $49

    Since I unable to afford $197 which is very huge amount on terms of INR, O decided to discontinue. More over he tempted to go for the model CO-OP with a slab of 1000 clicks pakage @ $0.60/click, which is very high value he has planned to capture.

    Reply
Amelia Roberts - April 7, 2018

Hello, I want to find out how long will the free subscription last and how much will be cost of a paid membership?

Reply
    Jerry Huang - April 7, 2018

    Hey Amelia,
    Wealthy Affiliate Free Starter Membership doesn’t have a trial period. You can stay as free member for as long as you want.

    The Premium membership cost $49 per month. But if you upgrade to Premium within the first 7 days, you can enjoy your first month of Premium at $19.

    Reply
Norman Richards - March 8, 2018

I always believe that when it comes to Wealthy Affiliate, there is no comparison because many other programs out there all have some sort of hidden fees which can be quite significant.

With Wealthy Affiliate, sky is the limit as you build an online business with a group of people who is by your side helping you every step along the way. The proof is there to show that Wealthy Affiliate ought to be the first choice.

Reply
    Jerry Huang - March 9, 2018

    Hey Norman,
    Glad you love Wealthy Affiliate so much. It indeed is a very awesome community for anyone to succeed. Thanks for sharing that 🙂

    Reply
Rick - March 8, 2018

It’s hard to find great programs where you don’t have to pay significant amounts of money to be successful.

I have seen some people who have gone to jail and made major changes in their life because of it so I won’t hold that against him. However, I don’t like hidden fees.

Thank you for the review and another option.

Reply
    Jerry Huang - March 8, 2018

    Hi Rick,
    We all hate hidden fees to be honest! That’s one of the things I don’t really like about 4 Percent Group as well!

    Reply
Barb - March 8, 2018

Hi Jerry!
This is an absolutely fantastic review!
I stayed away from Vick’s offers a long time ago – something didn’t feel right in my gut – glad I paid attention!

Sounds like you are in the right place at Wealthy Affiliate!
To your continued success!

Reply
    Jerry Huang - March 8, 2018

    Hi Barb,
    I’m glad you stayed away from Vick’s product. Despite 4 Percent Group is not a scam, Vick used to create a number of scam products like I’ve mentioned in this review.

    And yes! Wealthy Affiliate is awesome man!

    Reply
Benito Semommung - March 8, 2018

Hey Jerry,

First and foremost, I would like to commend you for your motivation and inspiration to the youth. Your review is comprehensive and easy to follow.

Secondly, you were quite objective, and provided both the pros and cons of 4 Percent Group. I learnt a lot from this review and would even test the program just to have a feel of how it works.

Keep up the good work.

Regards.

Reply
    Jerry Huang - March 8, 2018

    Hey Benito,
    Thanks for your comment and your support! I’m glad that you like my review 🙂

    All the best to you my friend!

    Reply

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