diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3644f9636..97d011314 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -87,6 +87,9 @@ For the i915_firmware files, please select the version for your device.
 
 If you don't want to use the pre-built kernel and headers, you can compile the kernel yourself following these steps:
 
+
+0. (Prep) Install the required packages for compiling the kernel:
+  * $ sudo apt-get install build-essential binutils-dev libncurses5-dev libssl-dev ccache
 1. Assuming you cloned the linux-surface repo (this one) into ~/linux-surface, go to the parent directory:
   * $ cd ~
 2. Clone the mainline stable kernel repo: