On December 5, 2025, Cloudflare — one of the most widely used internet infrastructure companies — experienced another outage that briefly disrupted access to major online services. Platforms such as Zoom, LinkedIn, Shopify-powered sites, and even some banking portals were affected.
While the interruption was short, it was a wake-up call for side hustlers, freelancers, digital creators, and anyone running a business-of-one. When you’re the CEO, marketer, customer service team, and tech support all at once, even a few minutes of downtime can hit hard.
🚨 What Actually Happened?
Reports show the outage was caused by an internal firewall configuration issue that triggered connectivity problems across Cloudflare’s global network.
- Traffic began failing around 08:47 UTC.
- Services such as Zoom, LinkedIn, and online banking slowed or became temporarily unavailable.
- Cloudflare stated it quickly rolled back the faulty change and restored performance.
Because Cloudflare sits underneath much of the internet — handling DNS, security, and performance for millions of websites — even a small error can ripple across the online world.
Why Side Hustlers & Freelancers Should Pay Attention
For corporate environments, outages are frustrating but manageable. For independent workers and side hustlers, though, the impact can be immediate and personal. Here’s why:
💸 1. Lost Sales During Critical Windows
If you rely on Shopify, WordPress, or any platform using Cloudflare, your storefront might freeze up — costing you sales while customers bounce.
🗓️ 2. Disrupted Client Calls
Freelancers who meet clients over Zoom or run virtual coaching sessions may experience failed calls or buffering right when they need it most.
💬 3. Broken Lead Generation
LinkedIn — a crucial networking tool for independent professionals — was among the affected services. Any outage can interrupt messages, proposals, or new client outreach.
📉 4. Damage to Credibility
When someone visits your site and it’s down, they don’t think “Cloudflare is broken.” They assume your business is unreliable.
🧰 5. Reliance on Third-Party Infrastructure
Most side hustlers don’t realize their hosting company, e-commerce platform, or online tools are powered by Cloudflare behind the scenes. These outages highlight how interconnected—and vulnerable—the digital world really is.
What Side Hustlers & Freelancers Can Do to Protect Themselves
Even though you can’t prevent an outage on someone else’s system, you can reduce the impact on your business.
✔️ Know What Services You Use
Check whether your:
- website host,
- e-commerce platform,
- email provider,
- DNS or CDN,
uses Cloudflare. Awareness is step one.
✔️ Keep Customers Informed
Use social media or email lists to share quick updates during outages. Transparency builds trust.
✔️ Build a Lightweight Backup Plan
Examples:
- Save offline versions of client files.
- Have alternative communication tools like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams ready.
- Maintain a backup payment link outside your main website.
✔️ Don’t Rely on One Single Platform
Where possible, diversify:
- Accept payments through more than one service (Stripe + PayPal).
- Use multiple marketing channels (LinkedIn + email list).
- Export your customer data regularly.
✔️ Monitor Outage Reports
Status pages and platforms like DownDetector can help you react quickly before customers alert you.
The Bigger Picture for Entrepreneurs
This outage, following another major incident in November, shows how vulnerable the modern internet has become as more services depend on a handful of infrastructure providers. For side hustlers and freelancers, the takeaway is simple:
You may run a small business, but your tools rely on enormous systems — and when they fail, the impact lands directly on you.
Preparedness isn’t optional anymore. It’s part of running a resilient digital hustle.
