Factor in the value of your time. You cannot grow a business while you are busy fighting with other people. Factor in the cost of having others, such as lawyers, resolve it for you. Have a settlement range in mind, but be prepared to react to what you learn in the negotiation. Realize that you may have heard only the favorable parts of the story.
Mediation is another form of negotiation.
Here, a neutral third party is brought in to facilitate the negotiations. Florida has been a pioneer in the use of this method of dispute resolution. The process is now required in virtually all lawsuits before a court will even consider a trial. With mediation, as opposed to negotiation, costs now start to rise and control begins to fall. The mediator has to be paid and some measure of control is now in his or her hands.