To relieve the stress of structuring film financing deals at a major law firm, Esther Kang used to go home and bake cookies.

So Kang left her job as an associate in the Century City office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP about three weeks ago and started her own cookie company, Batch From Scratch.

But Kang now has a new source of stress: running her own business. “I’m no longer dealing with 30 cookies,” she said. “I’m dealing with hundreds.”

Kang is like many professionals who have started their own businesses in recent years. And even though the economy’s bad, in some ways this is a good time to start a business.

Mehdi Boudiab, founder of Tarzana pastry and baking consultancy MB Consulting, said it’s possible to buy a bakery shop for about $90,000 these days, down from about $200,000 a few years ago.

Boudiab also said the new generation of consumers is looking for gourmet items. Indeed, Kang makes a point of using locally farmed raw materials and high-quality imports, such as vanilla from Madagascar.

“The ones hurting the most are the die hard guys who want to stick to their fattening pastries and stuff like that,” Boudiab said. “And people don’t go for those anymore. So the young people with the new ideas and trends might be very successful.”

Kang is hoping for success but she’s being careful with money. She is making Batch From Scratch desserts at her aunt’s Koreatown storefront, New York Bakery, at least for now.

“I still have my law school loans,” Kang said.