diff --git a/tools/build/build-essentials.ps1 b/tools/build/build-essentials.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..81a3c6733
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/build/build-essentials.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+cd $PSScriptRoot
+cd ..\..
+$cwd = Get-Location
+$SolutionDir = $cwd,"" -join "\"
+cd $SolutionDir
+$BuildArgs = "/p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=x64 /p:BuildProjectReferences=false /p:SolutionDir=$SolutionDir"
+
+$ProjectsToBuild = 
+  ".\src\runner\runner.vcxproj",
+  ".\src\modules\shortcut_guide\shortcut_guide.vcxproj",
+  ".\src\modules\fancyzones\lib\FancyZonesLib.vcxproj",
+  ".\src\modules\fancyzones\dll\FancyZonesModule.vcxproj"
+
+$ProjectsToBuild | % {
+  Invoke-Expression "msbuild $_ $BuildArgs"
+}
\ No newline at end of file