diff --git a/cmd/podman/machine/start.go b/cmd/podman/machine/start.go
index 9c9c24f645..a3770d61a3 100644
--- a/cmd/podman/machine/start.go
+++ b/cmd/podman/machine/start.go
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ func start(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	fmt.Printf("Starting machine %q\n", vmName)
 	if err := vm.Start(vmName, machine.StartOptions{}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	fmt.Printf("Machine %q started successfully\n", vmName)
 	return nil
 }