It's pretty irresponsbile IMO, to suggest on BP that such are usual or customary means to finance deals considering our general membership, I'd bet the mayor or my congressman here get's better loan terms than I do!

I know being a PRO member doesn't inherently mean that they are successful or active as an investor but it seems more likely that an invested person would purchase membership.

BUT your membership in an LLC is an asset.  

You might be able to access some of the association forms without a membership too.

Connecting with members who have the pro-membership have a higher tendency so be more serious and provide you a good recommendation.3.

For me I dont want to upgrade to a pro membership because as a contractor there are no perks/incentive for me to upgrade.

You may be incurring a great deal of other expenses that are weighing it down such as conferences & Memberships etc.Looks like you're in the Pensacola area.

For example, a family limited partnership (or a family LLC) can be setup, where each member holds his/her membership interest through a Revocable Trust.

The membership is over 100 dollars after that.

A Pro membership also gets you an enhanced signature, which helps with branding yourself and standing out.3.)