diff --git a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
index 69dacaa5ead..3296d2ddbd4 100755
--- a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
+++ b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ do
     esac
 done
 
-if [ "x${GO_OUT}" == "x" ]; then
+if [ -z "${GO_OUT}" ]; then
     make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT="cmd/kubectl cmd/kube-apiserver cmd/kube-controller-manager cmd/cloud-controller-manager cmd/kubelet cmd/kube-proxy cmd/kube-scheduler"
 else
     echo "skipped the build."