diff --git a/bin/doom b/bin/doom
index 23d6e916b..7b8780f7a 100755
--- a/bin/doom
+++ b/bin/doom
@@ -55,10 +55,11 @@
        (message "Insecure mode on"))
       ((or "-p" "--private")
        (setq doom-private-dir (expand-file-name (concat (pop args) "/")))
-       (or (file-directory-p doom-private-dir)
-           (error "%s does not exist" doom-private-dir))
        (setenv "DOOMDIR" doom-private-dir)
-       (message "DOOMDIR changed to %s" doom-private-dir))
+       (message "DOOMDIR changed to %s" doom-private-dir)
+       (or (file-directory-p doom-private-dir)
+           (message "Warning: %s does not exist"
+                    (abbreviate-file-name doom-private-dir))))
       ((or "-e" "--emacsd")
        (setq emacs-dir (expand-file-name (concat (pop args) "/")))
        (message "Emacs directory changed to %s" emacs-dir))