International standards are revised as required. The most recent revision of ISO 9001 is ISO 9001:2000, replacing the previous revisions from 1994 (ISO 9001:1994).T

It is very common to use the general term ISO 9000 for a quality management system, even though a quality management system can only be certified according to the standard ISO 9001. (ISO 9000, ISO 9004 and ISO 19011 are - sort of -complementary standards and guidelines to ISO 9001).

It is important to note, that the old edition of the series of standards ISO 9000:1994 contains still the standards ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 which are now included in ISO 9001:2000.

There is no legal requirement - under no conditions - for an organization to implement ISO 9001, and it is up to the organization's management to make this decision and to take the appropriate initiative and action for the implementation and certification of ISO 9001.

Organizations with an implemented ISO 9001 quality management systems can obtain certification through a third party certification body, called Registrar. It is important to note that ISO 9001 does not certify the quality of products or services. The certification only confirms that the organization's quality management system meets the requirements of ISO 9001. Any organization, with manufacturing or service activities, large, medium size or small, can implement an ISO 9001 quality management system and obtain certification. 

How to get started
Now we know that

the standard ISO 9001 are issued by ISO in Switzerland quality management systems can be certified according to the requirements of ISO 9001 the latest and current edition of the standard is ISO 9001:2000, replacing the previous editions ISO 9001:1994, ISO 9002:1994 and ISO 9003:1994

here is what to do next:

1) Since you know nothing or very little about ISO 9000 and ISO 9001, the first step is to become familiar with the basics. The requirements of ISO 9001 are defined in the standard ISO 9001 third edition, published on December 15, 2000. So the very first step is to purchase the international standard ISO 9001:2000 third edition, 23 pages. Contact the ISO representative in your respective country for details.

2) Unless you are familiar with specified activities and methodologies, and with writing manuals and procedures, the content of the standard will most likely bring up many questions. An easy and fast way to get answers to most of these questions is to look at a quality management system model in an applied environment. Browsing through the model will give you a much better understanding of the standard. The model will also help you later with the documentation development, an important part of the implementation process. Keep always in mind that the standard specifies requirements which must be met by your organization. This includes the creation of records to demonstrate evidence of compliance with the requirements of ISO 9001. 

3) Once you have a basic understanding of what ISO 9001 is and what are the requirements, and - based on the content and samples contained in the quality management system model - you can estimate what would be involved with the implementation of ISO 9001 in your organization. Now you can make the decision to initiate (or not) the implementation process. The first steps are to inform all employees about the implementation of ISO 9001, followed by the development of required documentation such as quality manual and procedures as well as other activities such as auditing, quality control, etc.     

4) Once the quality management system is implemented, it can be certified by a recognized third party certification body, called Registrar. A certification confirms that the requirements of ISO 9001 are met. The ISO representative in your country can provide you a list of Registrars. You can establish contact with Registrars at any time of the implementation process. Registrars will provide you with details of the certification process, including costs. 
After initial certification, the Registrar will perform periodic compliance audits to verify if requirements of the standard have been and are being met. 

5) If necessary, you can hire the services of a consultant who will help you with the implementation process. Try to find a consultant with some experience in your industry. Very popular and less expensive are the on-line consulting services via internet and telephone.