diff --git a/prepareDeployTarget.sh b/prepareDeployTarget.sh
index f92b3fd..22b44e1 100644
--- a/prepareDeployTarget.sh
+++ b/prepareDeployTarget.sh
@@ -105,10 +105,10 @@ touch "${ECOSYSTEM}"
 chown -R $USER:$USER /home/$USER
 
 # run pm2 as current user ubuntu to avoid pm2 running as root below
-pm2 status
+sudo -u $USER pm2 status
 
 # ensure we run the latest version, this might not be the case if this script is ran against a already prepared server
-pm2 updatePM2
+sudo -u $USER pm2 updatePM2
 
 # setup the init scripts
 pm2 startup -u $USER