diff --git a/examples/with-mongodb-mongoose/lib/dbConnect.ts b/examples/with-mongodb-mongoose/lib/dbConnect.ts
index 2e03265f4d126..516356785c431 100644
--- a/examples/with-mongodb-mongoose/lib/dbConnect.ts
+++ b/examples/with-mongodb-mongoose/lib/dbConnect.ts
@@ -3,14 +3,6 @@ declare global {
   var mongoose: any; // This must be a `var` and not a `let / const`
 }
 
-const MONGODB_URI = process.env.MONGODB_URI!;
-
-if (!MONGODB_URI) {
-  throw new Error(
-    "Please define the MONGODB_URI environment variable inside .env.local",
-  );
-}
-
 let cached = global.mongoose;
 
 if (!cached) {
@@ -18,6 +10,14 @@ if (!cached) {
 }
 
 async function dbConnect() {
+  const MONGODB_URI = process.env.MONGODB_URI!;
+
+  if (!MONGODB_URI) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "Please define the MONGODB_URI environment variable inside .env.local",
+    );
+  }
+
   if (cached.conn) {
     return cached.conn;
   }