diff --git a/php/EE/Runner.php b/php/EE/Runner.php
index 24d0d86a6..2679f30fa 100644
--- a/php/EE/Runner.php
+++ b/php/EE/Runner.php
@@ -485,6 +485,8 @@ public function init_logger() {
 
 		EE::set_logger( $logger );
 
+		$this->init_ee();
+
 		if ( ! is_writable( EE_CONF_ROOT ) ) {
 			EE::err( 'Please run `ee` as root user.' );
 		}
@@ -680,8 +682,6 @@ private function set_alias( $alias ) {
 
 	public function start() {
 
-		$this->init_ee();
-
 		// Enable PHP error reporting to stderr if testing.
 		if ( getenv( 'BEHAT_RUN' ) ) {
 			$this->enable_error_reporting();