diff --git a/BUILD.md b/BUILD.md
index b15b50e5..c74c0d68 100644
--- a/BUILD.md
+++ b/BUILD.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ To build, follow these steps:
 * run `npm install`
 * run `npm run build` (this process takes a while the first time and only needs to be run if the ui changes)
 * change back to the checkout root
+* make sure the dist directory exists: `mkdir -p dist`
 * build the go project normally: `go build -o dist ./...`
 
 ## Documentation/Website