What does it mean?
In the textbook definition, a necessity entrepreneur is someone who could not find a job and started a business to survive. "The job is not enough" describes a different case: the person does have a job, but the salary does not cover their needs, so they start a small business on the side.
How does it work?
The founder keeps the day job and runs the business in the evenings and at weekends, usually from a phone: taking orders on WhatsApp, showing products on Instagram, and delivering in person or through friends. Every day they weigh the safety of a salary against the risk of the business.
Standard measures miss this easily, because they were designed for different labour markets.
Why does it matter?
The right diagnosis changes the kind of support people need. This founder rarely needs an "idea to business" workshop. They need simple tools for marketing, sales and management that save time, and a path to finance and networks. A business started because the salary was not enough can still grow into a real company if it finds the road.
In the Syrian context
According to AoSEn's article "Opportunity or necessity?", about 36% of those who stated their work status (239 people) described themselves as employees, and 7% as looking for work, so a large part of the entrepreneurial community holds a job alongside its business. In the Entrepreneurship Observatory, 76% of project owners sell through social media.
Only 7% named money or income as their first motive in the membership form, while more than eight in ten new entrepreneurs in Jordan agree they started to earn a living because jobs are scarce (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2025). The article concludes that the way the question was asked shaped the answer, and that necessity in Syria often means "my job is not enough".
Example
A Damascus schoolteacher bakes homemade sweets after school, takes orders on WhatsApp and delivers them on Fridays. The business does not let her quit teaching, but it covers what the salary does not.
Common questions
How is "the job is not enough" different from necessity entrepreneurship?
It is not the opposite, but one version of it. The driver here is not the lack of a job but a job that pays too little, so the founder stays employed at the same time.
Should I quit my job to make my business succeed?
Not necessarily. Many people build their business alongside a job until its income is steady enough. The decision depends on the business's income, your savings and your commitments.
How will AoSEn measure this?
The second edition of the Observatory, due in April 2027, will add GEM's four motive questions and two questions about holding another job alongside the business.