Why this Canberra barber wants you to leave him a one-star review
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When people start a small business, they typically want to avoid one-star Google reviews. But one local barber is doing the opposite, calling for his customers to keep his ranking low.
Opening in August 2026, founder of One Star Barber James Cahill describes his business as “a rebellion against the hyper-polished, search-engine-optimised, five-star-obsessed businesses out there.”
At the time of writing, he currently has 33 one-star Google reviews. And while this might be something that would break other businesses, James is stoked – it’s exactly what he wants his customers to do.
“I want to have as many one-star reviews on Google as possible and see if it’s still a successful business,” he says.
“Everyone is in on the joke, which is very important, and one star feels more real than five stars…we’re so nervous and scared about having less than five stars as a business.”
“If you’re developing a nice community around you, stars shouldn’t matter.”
One Star Barber is offering $1 haircuts to new clients over the age of 16 – yes, you read that right. And despite the awful rating, appointments are already filling up exclusively via word of mouth.
James has only been practising as a barber for 12 months. With a background in the entertainment industry (you might recognise him by his stage name True Blue James), the 30-year-old says that he never planned on entering the hair industry. Originally planning to walk the “suffering, miserable artist path”, he realised things needed to change and started looking at what might interest him as a career.
“My missus and I were looking at jobs for me to do, and we walked past a barber shop and I thought ‘That’ll do’,” James says with a laugh.
“I’m really loving barbering – it’s such a cool thing for me… I started to align barbering with all my values that I have with my art.”
Community building is one such value.
Passionate about connecting with others and building relationships, James originally entered the arts to “make people feel good” – something that barbering also offers him on a more intimate platform.
“Relationships are a big thing for me. In tricky times, people stockpile weapons and canned food, but I think it’s important to stockpile relationships. A big dream of mine is to have a nice, deep network of relations,” he explains.
But it hasn’t been a straightforward journey. When James started in the barbering industry, he admits he never expected it to be so “weird”. Describing it as extremely egotistical, as he began working casually as a barber, James quickly realised two things: he wanted to work for himself, and he knew exactly what kind of barber he didn’t want to be.
“There was one barber that came into CIT and he was the ‘five-star barber’. He was bragging and gloating about his five stars and all I could think was, ‘I don’t want to be that’,” says James.
“That’s where the idea for One Star came from.”
Often playing with juxtaposition on the stage, James instantly knew the concept was something he wanted to follow through. He rented a small space on City Walk from You Are Here and opened the genderless barber studio just months after getting his Certificate III.
The collaboration was a perfect fit – and just a few months later, James says that One Star Barber is his best joke yet.
“The space is managed by You Are Here, a local collective of creative producers. They have affordable, flexible studio and workshop spaces available, and also provide support and mentorship to artists through the You Are Here Club,” he explains.
“You Are Here is activating 131 City Walk in partnership with Blank, supported by the City Renewal Authority.”
Still accepting new clients, James says that his ideal clients are innovators – those who want to introduce new ideas and methods to the city he loves.
“The Canberra arts scene is very cool because the people who have stayed are some of the most intelligent, compassionate people I’ve met here in Canberra,” he explains. “I moved to Canberra to do whatever I can on the scene and innovate – I’m looking for those people.”
“I want to get them in here and chat and say ‘Let’s fu*cking do something.”
As he continues to build his business, James admits he does have one fear about his strategy: being left a five-star review. While he knows that ultimately, it’s a good thing (and they aren’t left maliciously), he doesn’t want to be a 1.3-star barber – he wants to be the One Star Barber.
“Even though I’m doing this ironically, you still become the thing. A five-star review would ruin my business,” he says.
James also hopes to expand his business one day to work with other like-minded barbers and train apprentices. But as he continues to work hard to keep his Google rating down, he hopes One Star Barber can offer something a little bit different to Canberra – and it’s not just a cool haircut.
“If you’re sick of what’s going on in other barber shops, like super ridiculous high prices for a haircut, this is the breath of fresh air you’re looking for,” says James.
“There’s depth to this, and a lot of businesses are lacking depth.”
For more information, visit onestarbarber.com.au.
