Many readers might be eager to get in on the projected $25 billion market that represents the app gaming industry, but they are first seeking tips on how to get their feet wet without spending a whole lot of money from the onset.

Thanks to a burgeoning cottage industry of companies that offer services based around the app-creation field, there are ways to get a game-related app up and running and hopefully approved and selling in the iTunes App Store without having to dispense with a huge outlay of cash:

#1 – Pay a low monthly fee for app-creation services

Certain app makers and game builders like Appy Pie offer free app-creation services, but when you get to the details of the extended features that most folks desire, you’ll find there are monthly fee plans for these services. If the game is a hit, it might be worth the cost.

#2 – Buy inexpensive source code and re-skin the game on your own

Websites like Chupamobile offer the source codes of famous and not-so-famous app games that interested parties can buy and turn into a legal version of their own by changing things that the developer requests, like images and music.

#3 – Hire low-cost developers to code and/or re-skin the game for you

The best thing about sites like Elance and oDesk is that we can take advantage of them to find freelancers from all over the world that might be highly qualified to code app games at a low cost. Check their previous ratings and try to get actual proof of the games they’ve coded before hiring a developer.

#4 – Learn to code it from scratch

If you’re not in the mood to hire a programmer and wouldn’t mind trying your hand at altering the source code that you purchase, Udemy has certain sellers that not only sell their game’s source code, but also along with it provide video instructions on how to re-skin it yourself.

#5 – Sell something and go big

Okay, granted – there are times when doing something the cheap way might not cut it and give you the results you want. Maybe you’ve found a high-quality developer on Elance, or one on Chupamobile that will charge you $799 to re-skin their code. Perhaps you have your eye on buying Trey Smith’s BuildBox game-creation software for nearly $3,000.

In that instance, it might take a big of ingenuity and creativity to come up with the cash to fund your burgeoning game development company. Believe me, over the past couple of years I’ve sold my gold and diamond jewelry to raise funds, or other things around my house via eBay. If the real desire is there to gain an income, great minds will find a way.

Surely there’s a way to get income when we need it – if only to make ourselves as rich as those guys and girls over at Glu Mobile right now.