diff --git a/pyinotifyd/__init__.py b/pyinotifyd/__init__.py
index 22add87..4234def 100755
--- a/pyinotifyd/__init__.py
+++ b/pyinotifyd/__init__.py
@@ -58,12 +58,12 @@ class Pyinotifyd:
         self._shutdown_timeout = timeout
 
     def start(self, loop=None):
-        assert len(self._watches) > 0, \
-            "pyinotifyd: unable to start, no watches configured"
         if not loop:
             loop = self._loop
 
         self._log.info("starting")
+        if len(self._watches) == 0:
+            self._log.warning("no watches configured, the daemon will not do anything"
         for watch in self._watches:
             self._log.info(f"start watching '{watch.path}' for inotify events")
             self._notifiers.append(watch.event_notifier(self._wm, loop))